The Cullens and Twilight
by DrPepper1990
Summary: Before Bella comes to town the Cullens discover 4 books on their doorstep. They decide to read them
1. Chapter 1

The Cullens and Twilight

One day the Cullens were just lazing around the house. They were trying to decide what to do with their day when suddenly Alice and Edward sat up when Alice was hit with a vision. Alice ran to the front door and on the door step there were four books. Alice knew that these books were special since in here vision she seen everyone reading them. In the vision they were all in awe of the books for what they contained was the future.

"Hey everyone," Alice squealed. "We have to read these books. I cant see what's in them but I know they contain the future."

"How can books contain the future?" asked Rosalie, who was already suspicious of these books.

"Well, lets read them and find out, shall we?" Replied Carlisle. He was very intrigued by these books. In all his three hundred and sixty three years he has never heard of future telling books.

Carlisle then decided that he would read first. He grabbed the first book in the stack, Twilight. On the cover were two very pale hands holding an apple. There was no author information or anything to indicate its origin. He turned the book over to read the synopsis on the back.

**"`About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire.**" Carlisle stops reading as everyone gasps.

Everyone looks at Edward.

"What? I have no idea what this book is referring too."

"Somebody knows or will know our secret," said Rosalie, with a look of fear on her face.

"Let me finish reading the back and then we can decide if we should continue reading the book." He takes breath and continues.

**" 'Second, there was a part of him- and I didn't know how dominant that part might be- that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.'"**

Everyone sat still for a moment to let that all sink in. Suddenly, Esme jumps up and hugs Edward, realizing soon that he would find his mate.

Reading her mind, Edward cant believe what he is hearing.

" I don't even know if I like this girl. This could be some ploy from someone"

" Who? Who would have the power, not to mention the time and the mind to come up with a scheme like this?" Replied Jasper, still a little shocked about what he was hearing.

"Maybe we should continue reading to find out who Eddie's secret lover is," said Emmett.

"I cant have a secret lover if I never met this person," grumbled Edward. "And don't call me Eddie."

"Okay so we are all in agreement that we should continue reading?" Everyone nodded yes.

"Next there is a verse from the Bible.

**'But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die' Genesis 2:17."**

" So that could mean this person is gonna die?" said Emmett.

"Shh. Keep reading Carlisle, please." asked Alice.

"Next is the preface.

**Preface**

**I'd never given much thought to how I would die- though I had reason enough in the last few months- but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.**

Is this a human writing this?" Asked Emmett. "Edward is gonna fall for a human?"

"From the sounds of things, it seems like he is gonna kill her," replied Jasper.

"I don't see him killing anyone, but it might be too soon to tell." said Alice

"I'm not going to kill anyone." Edward said with uncertainty coloring his voice.

**"I stared without breathing across the long room, into the dark eyes of the hunter, and he looked pleasantly back at me." **

Continued Carlisle.

"Maybe it's a nomad passing through and Eddie here has to save his lady love." Said Emmett.

"I do see nomads passing through in the next couple of months but it is too soon to tell if they are going to come close to Forks." Said Alice, her eyes glazed over as she searched the future.

**"Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone I loved. Noble, even. That ought to count for something."**

"Who ever this is sounds like a selfless person." said Esme, still rather excited about Edward and the potential mate.

**" I knew that if I'd never gone to Forks, I wouldn't be facing death now. But, terrified as I was, I couldn't bring myself to regret the decision. When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it's not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end. **

**The hunter smiled in a friendly was as he sauntered forward to kill me."**

"I don't think its Edward that is after her. It sounds like she is trying to save someone." Said Rose in slight awe of this human who would risk their life to save someone from a vampire.

"Whoever she is, I think she has balls," replied Emmett, also sounding in shock.

"Emmett, language" scolded Esme.

"Can I read the next chapter?" asked Alice. Carlisle hands off the book to Alice.


	2. Chapter 2

**SM owns all . I am just messing with her characters.**

**1. First Sight.**

"**My mother drove me to the airport with the windows rolled down. It was seventy-five degrees in phoenix, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue.**

"Who do we know that is from Phoenix?" asked Emmett.

"Nobody yet. But I do have a suspicion if the rumors in town are true." replied Carlisle.

** I was wearing my favorite shirt- sleeveless, white eyelet lace;**

"We are definitely going to have to work on her fashion sense." Grumbled Alice stopping for a moment.

** "I was wearing it as a fair well gesture. My carry-on item was a parka.**

"A parka, really?" Questioned Alice as if a parka was the worst thing ever

"Well to humans it is really cold here, Alice." Edward answered back.

** In the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington State, a small town named Forks exists under a near-constant cover of clouds.**

" And that is just how we like it," said Rosalie.

** it rains on this inconsequential town more than any other place in the United States of America. It was from this town and its gloomy, omnipresent shade that my mother escaped with me when I was only a few months old. It was in this town that I'd been compelled to spend a month every summer until I was fourteen. **

"Wow, she really must not like this town. So why is she coming back?" Asked Jasper.

"Lets read and find out." Said Alice, anxious to read more.

** "That was the year I finally put my foot down; these past three summers, my dad, Charlie, vacationed with me in California for two weeks instead.**

"Charlie? She doesn't mean Charlie Swan does she? Is this Chief Swan's daughter?" Asked Esme.

"Well, there is a rumor going around town that she is coming to live with him. So it may be her." responded Carlisle

All the while Edward was thinking about how much he wanted this to be his mate. But how could she when she is only human. "How can I be mated to a human? Is that even possible?" asked Edward.

"Of course its possible. I met Esme as a human, but I resisted until it was almost too late. But the minute I touched her I knew she was my mate." Said Carlisle.

"Can I read on now?" asked Alice. They all nodded yes.

** It was to Forks that I know exiled myself- an action that I took with great horror. I detested Forks.**

"Man, she does really not like this town." Said Emmett, snickering.

** I loved Phoenix. I loved the sun and the blistering heat. I loved the vigorous, sprawling city.**

** "Bella," my mom said to me- the last of a thousand times- before I got on the plane. "You don't have to do this."**

"Bella," said Edward quietly, already liking the name, more than he should. The rest of the couples look at each other smiling.

** My mom looks like me, except with short hair and laugh lines. I felt a spasm of panic as I stared at her wide , childlike eyes. How could I leave my loving, erratic, hare-brained mother to fend for her self? Of course she had Phil now, so the bill would probably get paid, there would be food in the refrigerator, gas in her car and someone to call when she got lost, but still… **

"That doesn't sound like much of a mother to me," said Rosalie. Esme silently agreed.

** "I **_**want **_**to go," I lied. I had always been a bad liar, but I'd been saying this lie so frequently lately that it sounded almost convincing now.**

** "Tell Charlie I said hi."**

** "I will."**

** "I'll see you soon," she insisted. "You can come home whenever you want- I'll come right back as soon as you need me."**

** But I could see the sacrifice in her eyes behind the promise.**

"She is observant" said Jasper, "and very selfless. You don't normally see that in a human."

** "Don't worry about me," I urged. "It'll be great. I love you, Mom."**

** She hugged me tightly fir a minute, and then I got on the plane, and she was gone.**

** It's a four-hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle, another hour in a small plane up to Port Angeles, and than an hour drive back down to Forks. **

"Wow, humans drive slow," said Emmett

"Humans are more breakable Em. Plus he is the Chief of police. He kind of has to obey traffic laws." replied Carlisle.

"Oh yeah, we wouldn't want Edward's mate to get hurt."

** Flying doesn't bother me; the hour in the car with Charlie, though, I was a little worried about.**

" I wonder why she is worried to see her father?" asked Esme.

** Charlie had really been fairly nice about the whole thing. He seemed genuinely pleased that I was coming to live with him for the first time with any degree of permanence. He'd already gotten me registered for high school and was going to help me get a car. **

** "**He sounds like a good father" said Carlisle.

** But it was sure to be awkward with Charlie. Neither of us was what anyone would call verbose, and I didn't know what there was to say regardless. I knew he was more than a little confused by my decision- like my mother before me, I hadn't made a secret of my distaste in Forks.**

** When I landed in Port Angeles, it was raining. I didn't see it as an omen- just unavoidable. I'd already said my goodbyes to the sun.**

** "**I really hope she isn't going to be miserable here. If she truly is my mate that she would never be able to see the sun" said Edward glumly. "She would never be truly happy."

"Maybe she changes her mind once she meets you." Said Alice trying to cheer him up a bit.

** Charlie was waiting for me with the cruiser. This I was expecting, too. Charlie is Police Chief Swan to the good people of Forks. My primary motivation behind buying a car, despite the scarcity of my funds, was that I refused to be driven around town in a car with red and blue lights on top. Nothing slows down traffic like a cop.**

"Maybe she will let me buy her a car," wondered Edward.

" Getting a little ahead of yourself there, huh Eddie. You haven't even set eyes on her yet." snickered Emmett.

"It was just a thought, and don't call me Eddie. Its Edward." said Edward.

** Charlie gave me an awkward, one-armed hug when I stumbled my way off the plane.**

** "It's good to see you, Bells," he said, smiling as he automatically caught and steadied me. "You haven't changed much. How's Renee?" **

** "**Hmm, Bells…it's a good nickname. I like it." Murmured Alice. Emmett and Jasper agree.

"I think I just like Bella," said Edward quietly. He was thinking of how much he already liked this girl, despite the fact of not even seeing her or hearing her mind.

** "Mom's fine. It's good to see you, too, Dad." I wasn't allowed to call him Charlie to his face.**

** I had only a few bags. Most of my Arizona clothes were too permeable for Washington. My mom and I had pooled our resources to supplement my winter wardrobe, but it was still scanty. It all fit easily into the trunk of the cruiser.**

"A few bags?! I definitely see a shopping spree in the near future." Squealed Alice.

** " I found a good car for you, really cheap," he announced when we were strapped in.**

** "What kind of car?" I was suspicious of the way he said "good car for **_**you" **_**as opposed to just "good car"**

"Let me just point out that she doesn't seem to miss a thing. She is too observant. Maybe that is how she knows the secret." Jasper said, reiterating his earlier observation.

** "Well, it's a truck actually, a Chevy."**

** "Where did you find it?"**

** "Do you remember Billy Black down at La Push? La Push is the tiny Indian reservation on the coast.**

** "**As in the Blacks we have a treaty with?" asked Rosalie, with something akin to dislike in her voice.

"I believe so" Carlisle responded.

** "No."**

** "He used to go fishing with us during the summer," Charlie prompted.**

** That would explain why I didn't remember him. I do a good job of blocking painful, unnecessary things from my memory.**

" I wonder what else she had to block that was painful." Said Edward out loud. He would make sure his mate never felt pain again.

"**He's in a wheelchair now," Charlie continued when I didn't respond, "so he cant drive anymore, and he offered to sell me his truck cheap."**

** "What year is it?" I could see from his change of expression that this was the question he was hoping I wouldn't ask.**

** "Well, Billy's done a lot of work on the engine- its only a few years old, really."**

"Something tells me this truck is going to be almost as old as Emmett," says Rosalie.

"Hey," Emmett grumbled.

** I hope he didn't think so little of me as to believe I would give up that easily. "When did he buy it?"**

** "He bought it in 1984, I think."**

** "Did he buy it new?"**

** "Well, no. I think it was new in the early sixties- or late fifties at the earliest," he admitted sheepishly.**

"Ha, not quite as old as me," snickered Emmett

"But old enough, That old monster probably doesn't even have airbags for safety, or seat belts." said Edward.

"Awe, look. Edward is getting all protective of his girl." teased Emmett.

"Leave your brother alone," said Esme in a stern voice.

** "Ch- Dad, I don't really know anything about cars. I wouldn't be able to fix it if anything went wrong, and I couldn't afford a mechanic…." **

** "Really, Bella the thing runs great. They don't build them like that anymore."**

_** The thing,**_** I thought to myself…it had possibilities- as a nickname, at the very least.**

** "How cheap is cheap?" After all, that was the part I couldn't compromise on.**

** "Well, honey, I kind of already bought it for you. As a homecoming gift." Charlie peeked sideways at me with a hopeful expression.**

** Wow. Free.**

** "You didn't need to do that, Dad. I was going to buy myself a car."**

"Awe, he is a good dad," said Alice.

** "I don't mind. I want you to be happy here." He was looking ahead at the road when he said this. Charlie wasn't comfortable with expressing his emotions out loud. I inherited that from him. So I was looking straight ahead as I responded.**

** "That's really nice, Dad. Thanks. I really appreciate it." No need to add that my being happy in Forks is an impossibility. He didn't need to suffer along with me. And I never looked a free truck in the mouth-or engine.**

"I wonder why she is coming to Forks if she hates it so much?" Asked Esme.

"Maybe her home life in phoenix isn't so great. Specially with the scarcity of money and with the way her mother seems to be. Maybe she is looking for stability." Said Rosalie.

"Well if she is my mate than she will never have to worry about money ever again and we could offer her stability." Edward responded firmly.

** "Well, now you're welcome," he mumbled, embarrassed by my thanks.**

** We exchanged a few more comments about the weather, which was wet, and that was pretty much it for conversation. We stared out the windows in silence.**

** It was beautiful, of course; I couldn't deny that. Everything was green: the trees, their trunks covered with moss, their branches hanging with a canopy of it, the ground covered with ferns. Even the air filtered down greenly through the leaves. **

** It was too green- an alien planet**

"Huh, I never noticed how green it is. But now that I think about it green seems to be everywhere." says Jasper after a minute of silence.

"It really is too green. Not a whole lot of color. Maybe Edward can show where the color is at. Maybe take her too your meadow or even here with all the flowers." Emmett says looking at Edward.

"You want me to bring a human here?" Edward says incredulously.

"Well, yeah. I'm sure we would all like to meet the lovely Bella." Replied Alice. "We are going to be sisters one day."

"Your going to change her?" Rose demanded suddenly.

"I don't know I haven't even met her yet. I'm not even entirely certain she is my mate." Edward said in a petulant tone.

"Can we get on with the story please?" asked Carlisle.

** Eventually we made it to Charlie's. he still lived in the small two-bedroom house that he bought with my mother in the early days of their marriage. Those were the only kind of days their marriage had- the early ones. There, parked on the street in front of the house that never changed, was my new-well, new to me- truck. It was a faded red color, with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab. To my intense surprise, I loved it.**

"Wow this girl has weird tastes." said Rosalie.

"Well she seems to like old things like Edward here." Snickered Jasper.

"Yeah Ed here is almost robbing the cradle," chortled Emmett.

"Okay back to the story please or we will be here for weeks still reading these books." Said Alice.

** I didn't know if it would run, but I could see myself in it. Plus, it was one of those solid iron affairs that never gets damaged- the kind you see at the scene of an accident, paint unscratched, surrounded by the pieces of the foreign car it had destroyed.**

** "Wow, Dad, I love it! Thanks!" Now my horrific day tomorrow would be just that much less dreadful. I wouldn't be faced with the choice of either walking two miles in the rain to school or accepting a ride in the Chief's cruiser.**

** "I'm glad you like it," Charlie said gruffly, embarrassed again. **

"Awe, it is so cute how awkward Charlie is," squealed Alice

Even Rosalie, who was still thinking about the fact that Edward might change a human, thought he was cute as well.

** It took only one trip to get all my stuff upstairs.**

"I am taking this girl shopping whether she likes it or not," muttered Alice, which caused everyone to laugh.

** I got the west bedroom that faced out over the front yard. The room was familiar; it had belonged to me since I was born. The wooden floor, the light blue walls, the peaked ceiling, the yellowed lace curtains around the window- these were all part of my childhood. The only changes Charlie had ever made were switching the crib for a bed and adding a desk as I grew. The desk now held a second-hand computer, with the phone line form the modem stapled along the floor to the nearest phone jack. This was a stipulation from my mother, so that we could stay in touch easily. The rocking chair from my baby days was still In the corner. **

"Maybe add a new computer to the list of things we are buying this girl." Said Edward.

"Also a room redecoration while were at it." Added Esme.

"We cant do this all at once it will overwhelm her and then she might push us away," Jasper said knowingly.

"Back to the story" said Edward

** There was only one small bathroom at the top of the stairs, which I would have to share with Charlie. I was trying not to dwell too much on that fact.**

** One of the best things about Charlie is he doesn't hover. He left me alone to unpack and get settled, a feat that would have been altogether impossible for my mother. It was nice to be alone, not to have to smile and look pleased; a relief to stare dejectedly out the window at the sheeting rain and let just a few tears escape. I wasn't in the mood to go on a real crying jag. I would save that for bedtime when I would have to think about the coming morning. **

Edward was feeling sad for a mate he never met and it was baffling him to no end. Jasper with his gift sent him some calm. Edward sent back gratitude.

** Forks High School had a frightening total of only three hundred and fifty-seven- now fifty-eight- students; there were more than seven hundred people in my junior class alone back home. All the kids here had grown up together- their grandparents had been toddlers together. I would be the new girl from the big city, a curiosity, a freak.**

** "**Poor girl she is not a freak." said Esme feeling for her soon to be new daughter. "She so far sounds lovely."

"Yes she does." Responded Edward.

** Maybe if I looked like a girl from Phoenix should, I could work this to my advantage. But physically, I'd never fit in anywhere. I **_**should**_** be tan, sporty, blond- a volley-ball player, or a cheerleader, perhaps- all the things that go with living in the valley of the sun.**

** Instead, I was ivory-skinned, without even the excuse of blue eyes or red hair, despite the constant sunshine. I had always been slender, but soft somehow, obviously not an athlete; I didn't have the necessary hand-eye coordination to play sports with out humiliating myself- and harming both myself and anyone else who stood too close.**

"I hope I get to be in her gym class," laughed Emmett, "just to see her try to attempt a sport."

** When I finished putting my clothes in the old pine dresser, I took my bag of bathroom necessities and went to the communal bathroom to clean myself up after the day of travel. I looked at my face in the mirror as I brushed through my tangled damp hair. Maybe it was the light, but already I looked sallower, unhealthy. My skin could be pretty- it was very clear, almost translucent looking- but it all depended on color. I had no color here**

** Facing my pallid reflection in the mirror, I was forced to admit that I was lying to myself. It wasn't just physically that I could never fit in. and if I couldn't find a niche in a school with three thousand people, what were my chances here?**

"She obviously does not see herself very clearly," said Edward. "She sounds beautiful."

"I wonder if Chief Swan has a picture," Alice said already dashing out the door. She was back in less than two minutes with a picture in hand. Slowly she hand the picture to Edward not knowing how he will react. Edward turns the photo over and gasps. If his heart could beat it would be thumping out of his chest. To him Bella was the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen.

"I think I am in love." he says quietly but with so much passion in his voice.

" Can the rest of us see Edward?" asked Esme gently. Edward turns the photo around and everyone gasps. "Oh, Edward she is beautiful!"

They decide then to continue with the story. But Edward is holding on to the photograph like it was the most precious thing ever, because to him it was everything.

** I didn't relate well to people my age. Maybe the truth was that I didn't relate well to people, period. Even my mother, who I was closer to than anyone else on the planet, was never in harmony with me, never on exactly the same page. Sometimes I wondered if I was seeing the same things through my eyes that the rest of the world was seeing through theirs. Maybe there was a glitch in my brain.**

** But the cause didnt matter. All that mattered was the effect. And tomorrow would be just the beginning.**

** I didn't sleep well that night, even after I was done crying. The constant whooshing of the rain and wind across the roof wouldn't fade into the background. I pulled the faded old quilt over my head, and later added the pillow, too. But I couldn't fall asleep until after midnight, when the rain finally settled into a quieter drizzle.**

** Thick fog was all I could see out my window in the morning, and I could feel the claustrophobia creeping up on me. You could never see the sky here; it was like a cage.**

** Breakfast with Charlie was a quiet event. He wished me good luck at school. I thanked him, knowing his hope was wasted. Good luck tended to avoid me. Charlie left first, off to the police station that was his wife and family. After he left, I sat at the old square oak table in one of the three un-matching chairs and examined his small kitchen, with its dark paneled walls, bright yellow cabinets, and white linoleum floor. Nothing was changed. My mother had painted the cabinets eighteen years ago in an attempt to bring some sunshine into the house. Over the small fireplace in the adjoining handkerchief- sized family room was a row of pictures. First a wedding picture of Charlie and my mom in Las Vegas, then one of the three of us in the hospital after I was born, taken by a helpful nurse, followed by the procession of my school pictures up to last year's. Those were embarrassing to look at- I would have to ask Charlie to put them somewhere else, at least while I was living here.**

"I wonder why she has such a low self esteem of her self. I mean I know she doesn't see her self clearly, but she has to have at least some self worth in her somewhere." said Jasper with exasperation.

"I will tell her everyday of forever that she is beautiful and perfect just the way she is. And then hopefully one day it will sink in and she will have confidence in her self." Edward said with such ferocity that the whole family believed he could do it.

** It was impossible , being in this house, not to realize that Charlie had never gotten over my mom. It made me uncomfortable. **

** I didn't want to be too early to school, but I couldn't stay in the house anymore. I donned my jacket- which had the feel of a biohazard suit- and headed out in to the rain.**

** It was just drizzling still, not enough to soak me through immediately as I reached for the house key that was always hidden under the eaves by the door and locked up. The sloshing of my new waterproof boots was unnerving. I missed the normal crunch of gravel as I walked. I couldn't pause and admire my truck again as I wanted; I wasin a hurry to get out of the misty wet that swirled around my head and clung to my hair under my hood. **

** Inside the truck, it was nice and dry. Either Billy or Charlie had obviously cleaned it up, but the tan upholstered seats still smelled faintly of tobacco, gasoline, and peppermint. The engine started quickly, to my relief, but loudly, roaring to life and then idling at top volume. Well, a truck this old was bound to have a flaw. the antique radio worked, a plus that I hadn't expected.**

** Finding the school wasn't difficult, though I'd never been there before. The school was just like most other things, just off the highway. It was not obvious that it was a school; only the sign, which declared it to be Forks High School, made me stop. It looked like a collection of matching houses, built with maroon -colored bricks. There were so many trees and shrubs I couldn't see its size at first. Where was the feel of the institution? I wondered nostalgically. Where were the chain-link fences, the metal detectors?**

"Is she talking about a school or a prison?" asked Rosalie. "None of the schools we ever went to had metal detectors. Phoenix schools must be bad off if they have to have so much security."

"A lot of inner city schools have security measures like this anymore." Said Carlisle. "It's a terrible crime that kids just cant be kids anymore. They have to worry bout if someone is going to shoot up their school or bring some type of weapon."

"Okay enough with the heavy can we get back to reading? I want to hear about my Bella." If Edward could blush he would be a tomato.

** I parked in front of the first building, which had a small sign over the door reading Front Office. No one was parked there, so I was sure it was off limits, but I decided I would get directions inside instead of circling around in the rain like an idiot. I stepped unwillingly out of the toasty truck cab and walked down a little stone path lined with dark hedges. I took a deep breath before opening the door.**

** Inside, it was brightly lit, and warmer than I'd hoped. The office was small; a little waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked commercial carpet, notices and awards cluttering the walls, a big clock ticking loudly. Plants grew everywhere in large plastic pots, as if there wasn't enough greenery outside. The room was cut in half by a long counter, cluttered with wire baskets full of papers and brightly colored flyers taped to its front. There were three desks behind the counter, one of which was manned by a large, red-haired woman wearing glasses. She was wearing a purple t-shirt, which immediately made me feel over dressed.**

"Mrs. Cope." said Emmett.

"We know Emmett." said everyone.

** "I was just making sure.**

** The red haired woman looked up. "Can I help you?"**

** "I'm Isabella Swan," I informed her, and saw the immediate awareness light her eyes. I was expected, a topic of gossip no doubt. Daughter of the Chief's flighty ex-wife, come home at last. **

"Well there have been rumors going around. Mainly from Mrs. Stanley, but she is friends with Shelly Cope. Its terrible how people gossip." Said Esme, with irritation coloring her voice.

** "Of course," she said. She dug through a precariously stacked pile of documents on her desk till she found the ones she was looking for. "I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school." She brought several sheets to the counter to show me. **

** She went through my classes for me, highlighting the best route to each on the map, and gave me a slip to have each teacher sign, which I was to bring back at the end of the day. She smiled at me and hoped like Charlie, that I would like it here in Forks. I smiled back as convincingly as I could.**

** When I got back out to my truck, other students were starting to arrive. I drove around the school, following the line of traffic. I was glad to see that most of the cars were older like mine, nothing flashy. At home I'd lived in one of the fewer lower-income neighborhoods that were included in the Paradise Valley District. It was common thing to see a new Mercedes or Porsche in the student lot. The nicest car here was a shiny Volvo, and it stood out.**

"Finally she mentions us, well Edward's car at least." said Rosalie. "I was wondering when we would come into the story."

Edward smiled at the mention of his car.

** Still, I cut the engine as soon as I was in a spot, so that the thunderous volume wouldn't draw attention to me.**

** I looked at the map in the truck, trying to memorize it now; hopefully I wouldn't have to walk around with it stuck in front of my nose all day. I stuffed everything in my bag, slung the strap over my shoulder, and sucked in a huge breath. I can do this, I lied to my self feebly. No one was going to bite me. I finally exhaled and stepped out of the truck.**

"Wonder if that is foreshadowing, with the mention of someone biting her." Wondered Edward.

** I kept my face pulled back into my hood as I walked to the sidewalk, crowded with teenagers. My plain black jacket didn't stand out, I noticed with relief.**

" She must really not like attention," said Alice.

** "**Well hopefully she wont mind me giving her attention," replied Edward.

** Once I got around the cafeteria, building three was easy to spot. A large black "3" was painted on a white square on the east corner. I felt my breathing gradually creeping toward hyperventilation as I approached the door. I tried holding my breath as I followed two unisex rain coats through the door.**

** The classroom was small. The people in front of me stopped just inside the door to hang up their coats on a long row of hooks. I copied them. They were two girls, one a porcelain- colored blonde, the other also pale, with light brown hair. At least my skin wouldn't stand out here.**

** I took the slip up to the teacher, a tall, balding man whose desk had a nameplate identifying him as Mr. Mason. He gawked at me when he saw my name- not an encouraging response- and of course I flushed tomato red.**

"Ha she is an easy blush. I am going to have so much fun making her blush," laughed Emmett. Jasper agreed.

"You will not embarrass the poor girl," said Esme strongly.

"Yes, ma'am," they muttered.

** But at least he sent me to an empty desk at the back without introducing me to the class. It was harder for my new classmates to stare at me in the back, but somehow, they managed. I kept my eyes down on the reading list the teacher had given me. It was fairly basic: Bronte, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Faulkner. I'd already read everything. That was comforting…and boring. **

"So boring," moaned Emmett**.**

** I wondered if my mom would send me my folder of old essays, or if she would think that was cheating. I went through different arguments with her in my head while the teacher droned on.**

** When the bell rang, a nasal buzzing sound, a gangly boy with skin problems and hair as black as an oil slick. Leaned across the aisle to talk to me.**

"Eric Yorkie." Said Alice, before Emmett could say it, making him glare at her. She giggled at his expression.

"Something tells me that Ed here might have some competition," said Jasper with a look of merriment on his face. Edward just glared in his direction making Jasper laugh.

"Not funny Jazz," Edward finally managed to say.

** "You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" He looked like the overly helpful chess club type.  
>"<strong>Huh, he does look like the chess club type," Alice said giggling. Jasper smiled seeing his wife giggle.

** "Bella," I corrected. Every one in a three-seat radius turned to look at me. **

"People in our school are so nosy." Said Rosalie with a look of disgust on her face.

"Some of the nurses at the hospital are pretty nosy too." Carlisle said more gently, but also with a look of distaste on his face.

** "Where is your next class?" he asked.**

** I had to check in my bag. "Um, Government, with Jefferson, in building six."**

** There was nowhere to look with out meeting curious eyes.**

** "I'm headed toward building four, I could show you the way…." Definitely over helpful. **

The teenagers giggled.

** "I'm Eric, he added.**

** I smiled tentatively. "Thanks."**

** We got our jackets and headed out into the rain, which had picked up. I could have sworn several people behind us were walking close enough to eavesdrop. I hoped I wasn't getting paranoid.**

"She is not paranoid. People are just that nosy." Grumbled Rosalie, still with the look of disgust on her face.

"Well when she gets here, we will befriend her Rose. People will still be nosy but we can shield her from it better." Said Alice, already seeing it in her mind. Edward seen it too. He was happy his family seemed to except his human mate already.

** "So this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?" he asked.**

"Duh," said Rosalie. "What a stupid question."

** "Very"**

** "It doesn't rain much there, does it?"**

** "Three or four times a year."**

** "Wow, what must that be like?" he wondered.**

** "Sunny," I told him.**

** "You don't look very tan."**

** "My mother is part albino."**

** He studied my face apprehensively, and I sighed. It looked like clouds and a sense of humor didn't mix.**

"It mixes, you just havent met us yet." said Emmett.

"You do realize your talking to a book right?" Alice giggled at him. Everybody laughed. Emmett just glowered at her.

** A few months of this and I'd forget how to use sarcasm.**

** We walked back around the cafeteria, to the south buildings by the gym. Eric walked me right to the door, though it was clearly marked.**

** "Well, good luck," he said as I touched the handle. "Maybe we'll have some other classes together." He sounded hopeful.**

** I smiled at him vaguely and went inside.**

"I don't think you have to worry about Eric, Ed." Emmett said smiling, already over Alice's jab about talking to the book.

Edward just smiled widely.

** The rest of the morning passed in about the same fashion. My Trigonometry teacher, Mr. Varner, who I would have hated anyway just because of the subject he taught, was the only one who made me stand in front of the class and introduce myself. I stammered, blushed, and tripped over my own boots on the way to my seat.**

** After two classes, I started to recognize several of the faces in each class. There was always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask me questions about how I was liking Forks. I tried to be diplomatic, but mostly I just lied a lot. At least I never needed the map.**

** One girl sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish, and she walked with me to the cafeteria for lunch. She was tiny, several inches shorter than my five feet four inches, but her wildly curly dark hair made up a lot of the difference between our heights. I couldn't remember her name, so I smiled and nodded as she prattled about teachers and classes. I didn't try to keep up.**

"That sounds like Jessica Stanley." Alice announced.

"I think your right, Alice," Rosalie said.

"I cant stand that girl." Grumbled Edward. He hated the facet that she could not take no for an answer. "We definitely need to get to her before Stanley and Lauren Mallory get to her."

** We sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends, who she introduced me. I forgot all their names as soon as she spoke them. They seemed impressed by her bravery in speaking to me. The boy from English, Eric, waved at me from across the room.**

** It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with several curious strangers, that I first saw them.**

"I think we are finally going to be in the story." Emmett said happily.

"Well we wouldn't have gotten these books if we weren't involved some how." Carlisle said.

** They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. They weren't talking and they weren't eating, though each of them had tray of untouched food in front of them. They weren't gawking at me, unlike most of the other students, so it was safe to stare at them with out fear of meeting an excessively interested pair of eyes. But it was none of these things that caught, and held my attention.**

** They didn't look anything alike. Of the three boys, one was big- muscled like a serious weight lifter, with dark curly hair.**

"That's me!" Emmett exclaimed.

** Another was taller, leaner, but still muscular, and honey blond.**

"That's my Jazzy," Alice said smiling at her husband.

** The last was lanky, less bulky, with untidy, bronze- colored hair. He was more boyish than the others, who looked like they could be in college, or even teachers rather than students. **

Everyone looks at Edward. "What," He says. "I know that's me."

"She has noticed more in the first few moments than anyone else at that school." says Jasper. "She is definitely going to figure out our secret."

"Well she is Edward's mate. Maybe she is meant to figure out the secret. Maybe it is her destiny to become a vampire." Said Carlisle quietly.

"Well lets read on before we decide anything. I cant see what's going to happen now since we already changed the future." Said Alice.

** The girls were opposites. The tall one was statuesque. She had a beautiful figure, the kind you saw on the cover of the **_**Sports Illustrated **_**swimsuit issue, the kind that made every girl around her take a hit on her self-esteem just by being in the same room. Her hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of her back. The short girl was pixie like, thin in the extreme, with small features. Her hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction.**

** "**Do I really look like a pixie?" asked Alice.

"The most beautiful pixie I ever saw." Said Jasper lovingly.

** And yet they were all exactly alike. Every one of them was chalky pale, the palest of all the students living in this sunless town. Paler than me the albino. They all had very dark eyes despite their range in hair tones. They also had dark shadows under those eyes- purplish, bruise-like shadows. As if they were all suffering from a sleepless night, or almost done recovering from a broken nose. Though their noses, all their features, were straight perfect angular.**

** But all this is not why I couldn't look away. **

** I stared because their faces, so different, so similar, were all devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful.**

"I never heard of a human noticing so much," said Carlisle. He was shocked at how fast this human registered all the differences.

"She is special." Said Esme, who was already in love with her new daughter.

"Definitely special," said Edward with love also in his voice.

** They were faces you never expected to see except perhaps on the airbrushed pages of a fashion magazine. Or painted by an old master as the face of an angel. It was hard to decide who was the most beautiful- maybe the perfect blond girl or the bronze-haired boy.**

"She thinks your beautiful, Ed." chuckled Emmett.

"Well, I think she is more than just beautiful," replied Edward. "And for the last time, its Edward."

** They were all looking away- away from each other, away from the other students, away from anything in particular as far as I could tell. As I watched, the small girl rose with her tray- unopened soda, unbitten apple- and walked away with a quick, graceful lope that belonged on a runway. I watched, amazed at her lithe dancer's step, till she dumped her tray and glided through the back door, faster than I would have thought possible. My eyes darted back to the others, who sat unchanging.**

** "Who are **_**they?**_**" I asked the girl from my Spanish class, whose name I'd forgotten.**

** As she looked up to see who I meant- though already knowing, probably, from my tone- suddenly he looked at her, the thinner one, the boyish one, the youngest perhaps. He looked at my neighbor for just a fraction of a second, and then his dark eyes flickered to mine.**

"Jessica must have thought my name." Edward said.

** He looked away quickly, more quickly than I could, though in a flush of embarrassment I dropped my eyes at once. In that brief flash of a glance, his face held nothing of interest- it was as if she had called his name, and he looked up in involuntary response, already having decided not to answer.**

** My neighbor giggled in embarrassment, looking at the table like I did.**

** "That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." She said this under her breath.**

** I glanced sideways at the beautiful boy, who was looking at his tray now, picking a bagel to pieces with long pale fingers. His mouth was moving very quickly, his perfect lips barely opening. The other three still looked away, and yet I felt he was speaking quietly to them.**

"She must have exceptional vision, if she can see that from all the way across the room. Way more exceptional than a regular human." Carlisle noted. He was very much looking forward to meeting this girl.

** Strange, unpopular names, I thought. The kind of names grandparents had. But maybe that was in vogue here- small town names? I had finally remembered that my neighbor was called Jessica, a perfectly common name. There were two girls named Jessica in my History class back home.**

"Uh, maybe that's cause we would be grandparents if it weren't for the vampirism." Emmett said sarcastically.

Rosalie smacked the back of his head. " Be quiet, I want to hear what else she notices."

** "They are…very nice looking." I struggled with the conspicuous understatement.**

** "Yes!" Jessica agreed with another giggle. "They're all **_**together**_** though- Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they **_**live **_**together." Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of the small town, I thought critically. But, if I was being honest, I had to admit that even in Phoenix, it would cause gossip. **

** "Which ones are the Cullens?" I asked. "They don't look related…."**

** "Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins - the blondes- and they're foster children."**

** "They look a little old for foster children."**

** "They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that.**

"I guess our story is believable. I don't know how much longer it will be believable though. Everyone is going to be too old soon. I am guessing maybe we have another two years in this town if nothing of consequence happens." Stated Carlisle.

** "That's really kind of nice- for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they are so young and everything."**

"Yeah, if three hundred and sixty-three is considered young." Chortled Emmett.

** "I guess so," Jessica admitted reluctantly, and I got the impression that she didn't like the doctor and his wife for some reason. With the glances she was throwing at their adopted children I would presume the reason was jealously. "I think that Mrs. Cullen cant have any kids, though," she added, as if that lessened their kindness.**

"Too bad, so sad about her jealousy. We don't like you anyway." Rosalie said with a stuck up tone.

** Throughout the conversation, my eyes flickered again and again to the table where the strange family sat. They continued to look at the walls and not eat. **

"**Have they always lived in Forks?" I asked. Surely I would have noticed them on one of my summers here.**

** "No," she said in a voice that implied it should be obvious, even to a new arrival like me. "They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska."**

"That's the story in a nut shell." Said Alice. "Although there is way more to they story. Maybe I should write our story for Bella to read." She was starting to get excited about having something new to do.

"It would have to be destroyed the minute she was done reading it, in case it fell into the wrong hands." said Carlisle, with Rosalie nodding her head in agreement.

"We havent even met her yet. Maybe we should wait before we decide anything." Edward said, " she could be totally different from this book."

"Okay, lets keep reading," Esme announced.

** I felt a surge of pity, and relief. Pity because, as beautiful as they were, they were outsiders, clearly not accepted. Relief that I wasn't the only new comer here, and certainly not the most interesting by any standard.**

** As I examined them, the youngest, one of the Cullens, looked up and met my gaze, this time with evident curiosity in his expression. As I looked swiftly away, it seemed to me that his glance held some kind of unmet expectation.**

"I wonder what that is about," asked Edward.

** "Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?" I asked. I peeked at him from the corner of my eye, and he was still staring at me, but not gawking like the other students had today- he had a slightly frustrated expression. I looked down again.**

"Seriously, what is going on?" asked Edward again sounding anxious now.

** "That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good looking enough for him." She sniffed, a clear case of sour grapes. I wondered when he turned her down.**

** I bit my lip to hide my smile. Then I glanced at him again. His face was turned away, but I thought his cheek appeared uplifted, as if he were smiling, too.**

** After a few more minutes, the four of them left the table together. They were all noticeably graceful- even they big, brawny one. It was unsettling to watch. The one named Edward didn't look at me again.**

** I sat at the table with Jessica and her friends longer than I would have if I'd been sitting alone. I was anxious not to be late for class on my first day. One of my new acquaintances, who considerately reminded me that her name was Angela, had Biology II with me the next hour. We walked to class together in silence. She was shy, too.**

"That's when I have Bio. She will have to be my lab partner. It's the only available seat. Said Edward happily.

** When we entered the classroom, Angela went to sit at a black topped lab table exactly like the ones I was used too. She already had a neighbor. In fact, all the tables were filled but one. Next to the center aisle, I recognized Edward Cullen by his unusual hair, sitting next to that single open seat.**

** As I walked down the aisle to introduce my self to the teacher and get my slip signed, I was watching him surreptitiously. Just as I passed, he suddenly went rigid in his seat. He stared at me again, meeting my eyes with the strangest expression on his face- it was hostile, furious.**

Everyone gasps. Edward looks shocked. Was this really his mate?

"Edward, why would you stare at your mate with such an expression?" asked Esme after a moment.

"I don't know, Esme." answered Edward still shocked he would react that way to his mate.

"I think I might have a theory, but it is too soon to tell." said Carlisle.

** I looked away quickly, shocked, going red again. I stumbled over a book in the walkway and had to catch myself on the edge of the table. The girl sitting there giggled.**

** I'd noticed that his eyes were black- coal black.**

"Maybe I am just really thirsty?" asked Edward, "But I have better control than that."

"I think it is something called La Tua Cantante." explained Carlisle. " Its what the Volturi call it. It is when a person smells like the most delicious thing you ever smelled. It seems like that your mate is also your singer Edward. When you meet her you will have to be well fed and you might want to expose yourself to her scent to get used to it before meeting Bella.

"Now I am unsure if I even should meet her." Edward said with uncertainty in his voice.

"Oh, Edward you have to meet her. Why miss your one shot at true love?" asked Esme.

"Maybe we have to keep reading. We are still only on chapter one." said Alice. Everyone agreed and Alice continued.

** Mr. Banner signed my slip and handed me a book with no nonsense about introductions. I could tell we were going to get along. Of course, he had no choice but to send me to the one open seat in the middle of the room. I kept my eyes down as I went to sit by him, bewildered by the antagonistic stare he'd given me.**

** I didn't look up as I set my book on the table and took my seat, but I saw his posture change from the corner of my eye. He was leaning away from me sitting on the extreme edge of his chair and averting his face like he smelled something bad. Inconspicuously, I sniffed my hair. It smelled like strawberries, the scent of my favorite shampoo. It seemed like an innocent enough odor. I let my hair fall over my right shoulder, making a dark curtain between us, and tried to pay attention to the teacher. **

** Unfortunately the lecture was on cellular anatomy, something I'd already studied. I took notes carefully anyway, always looking down.**

"Poor Bella, she just doesn't understand. Yet." Said Alice, sadly. "Something tells me it will not take her long to figure out the secret. Specially if you keep acting that way."

** I couldn't stop myself from peeking occasionally through the screen of my hair at the strange boy next to me. During the whole class, he never relaxed his stiff position on the edge of his chair, sitting as far from me as possible. I could see his hand on his left leg was clenched into a fist, tendons standing out under his pale skin. This, too, he never relaxed. He had the long sleeves of his white shirt pushed up to his elbows, and his forearm was surprisingly hard and muscular beneath his light skin. He wasn't nearly as slight as he'd looked next to his burly brother. **

** "**Even after all that she still isn't scared of him." said Rosalie, astonished. "Most girls would be scared to even look at him after that.**"**

** The class seemed to drag on longer than the others. Was it because the day was finally coming to a close, or because I was waiting for his tight fist to loosen? It never did; he continued to sit so still it looked like he wasn't breathing. What was wrong with him? Was this his normal behavior? I questioned my judgment on Jessica's bitterness at lunch today. Maybe she was not as resentful as I'd thought.**

** It couldn't have anything to do with me. He didn't know me from Eve.**

** I peeked up at him one more time, and regretted it. He was glaring down at me again, his black eyes full of revulsion. As I flinched away from him, shrinking against my chair, the phrase **_**if looks could kill **_**suddenly ran through my mind.**

"Finally she reacts right." said Emmett.

"She is never going to like me now," says Edward glumly.

"You never know, Edward, it is still early." said Esme trying to cheer him up. She hated seeing any of her kids hurting.

** At that moment, the bell rang loudly, making me jump, and Edward Cullen was out of his seat. Fluidly he rose- he was much taller than I thought- his back to me, and he was out the door before anyone else was out of their seat.**

** I sat frozen in my seat, staring blankly after him. He was so mean. it wasn't fair. I began gathering up my things slowly, trying to block the anger that filled me, for fear my eyes would tear up. For some reason, my temper was hard wired to my tear ducts. I usually cried when I was angry, a humiliating tendency.**

** "Aren't you Isabella Swan?" a male voice asked.**

** I looked up to see a cute, baby-faced boy, his pale blond hair carefully gelled into orderly spikes, smiling at me in a friendly way. **

"Mike Newton," said Emmett.

** He obviously didn't think I smelled bad.**

** "Bella," I corrected him with a smile.**

** "I'm Mike."**

** "Hi, Mike."**

** "Do you need any help finding your next class?"**

** "I'm headed to the gym, actually. I think I can find it."**

** "That's my next class, too" He seemed thrilled, through it wasn't that big of a coincidence in a school this small.**

** We walked to class together; he was a chatterer- he supplied most of the conversation, which made it easy for me. He'd lived in California till he was ten, so he knew how I felt about the sun. it turned out he was in my English class also. He was the nicest person I'd met today.**

"I think he's your competition Edward," said Rosalie.

** But as we were entering the gym, he asked, "So, did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that."**

** I cringed. So I wasn't the only who had noticed. And, apparently, that wasn't Edward Cullen's usual behavior. I decided to play dumb.**

"Got to be more careful, Edward," said Rosalie and Alice at the same time.

** "Was that the boy I sat next to in Biology?" I asked artlessly.**

** "Yes," he said. "He looked like he was in pain or something."**

"Yeah, or something." said Edward darkly.

** "I don't know," I responded. "I never spoke to him."**

** "He's a weird guy." Mike lingered by me instead of heading to the dressing room. "If I were lucky enough to sit by you, I would have talked to you."**

** I smiled at him before walking through the girls' locker room door. He was friendly and clearly admiring. But it wasn't enough to ease my irritation. **

** The Gym teacher, Coach Clapp, found me a uniform but didn't make me dress down for today's class. At home, only two years of P.E. were required. Here, P.E. was mandatory all four years. Forks was literally my personal hell on Earth.**

** I watched four volleyball games running simultaneously. Remembering how many injuries I had sustained- and inflicted- playing volleyball, I felt faintly nauseated. **

"Man, she must be some klutz. I bet Carlisle comes into the story soon. Like within the next two chapters." Said Jasper.

Emmett never one to miss a bet said, "your on, one hundred bucks says he will come in later than that.

"Deal."

** The final bell rang at last. I walked slowly to the office to return my paperwork. The rain had drifted away, but the wind was strong, and colder. I wrapped my arms around myself.**

** When I walked into the warm office, I almost turned around and walked back out.**

** Edward Cullen stood at the desk in front of me. I recognized again the tousled bronze hair. He didn't appear to notice the sound of my entrance. I stood pressed against the back wall, waiting for the receptionist to be free.**

** He was arguing with her in a low, attractive voice. I quickly picked up the gist of the argument. He was trying to trade from sixth-hour Biology to another time- any other time.**

** I just couldn't believe that this was about me. It had to be something else, something that happened before I entered the Biology room. The look on his face must have been about another aggravation entirely. It was impossible that this stranger could take such a sudden, intense dislike to me.**

"Is the thirst really that bad, Carlisle?" asked Esme.

"Yes, do you remember in 1938 when Emmett suddenly attacked that lady hanging up her laundry. I think that was his singer. It comes on suddenly and there is almost no fighting it. The fact that Edward was able to resist is remarkable."

"I think it is cause deep down his soul recognized his mate and that is why he was able to resist." said Jasper.

** The door opened again, and the cold wind suddenly gusted through the room, rustling the papers on the desk, swirling my hair around my face. The girl who came it merely stepped to the desk, placed a note in the wire basket, and walked out again. But Edward Cullen's back stiffened, and he turned slowly to glare at me- his face was absurdly handsome- with piercing, hate filled eyes. For an instant, I felt a thrill of genuine fear, raising the hair on my arms. The look only lasted a second, but it chilled me more than the freezing wind. He turned back to the receptionist.**

** "Never mind, then," he said hastily in a voice like velvet. "I can see that its impossible. Thank you so much for your help." And he turned on his heel without another look at me, and disappeared out the door.**

** I went meekly to the desk, my face white for once instead of red, and handed her the signed slip. **

** "How did your first day go, dear?" the receptionist asked maternally.**

** "Fine," I lied, my voice weak. She didn't look convinced. **

** When I got to the truck, it was almost the last car in the lot. It seemed like a haven, already the closest thing to home I had in this damp green hole. I sat inside for a while, just staring out the windshield blankly. But soon I was cold enough to need the heater, so I turned the key and the engine roared to life. I headed back to Charlie's house, fighting tears the whole way there.**

Awe, Ed, you made her cry," said Alice sadly. "oh that was the end of the chapter. Who wants to read next?"

"I'll read next." Esme said quietly. She noticed the sad look on her favorite son's face but didn't say anything.


	3. Chapter 3

SM owns all I just like playing with her characters.

I want to thank everyone for the awesome reviews.

Being a first time writer, I was shocked that I got reviews. Let alone good ones. I hope I can do this story justice.

Now enough with my rambling, on to chapter 3

**2. Open Book**

** The next day was better…and worse.**

"What could possibly make it worse?" asked Edward, solemnly.

** It was better because it wasn't raining yet, thought the clouds were dense and opaque. It was easier because I knew what to expect of my day. Mike came to sit by me in English, and walked me to my next class, with Chess Club Eric glaring at him all the while; that was flattering. People didn't look at me quite as much as they had yesterday. I sat with a big group at lunch that included Mike, Eric, Jessica, and several other people whose names and faces I now remembered. I began to feel like I was treading water, instead of drowning in it.**

"If sitting with those people is a good thing than the bad stuff must be just plain awful." said Rosalie.

** It was worse because I was tired; I still couldn't sleep with the wind echoing around the house. It was worse because Mr. Varner called on me in Trig when my hand wasn't raised and I had the wrong answer. It was miserable because I had to play volleyball, and the one time I didn't cringe out of the way of the ball, I hit my teammate in the head with it.**

All the Cullens laughed at that except Edward, who was wondering about his presence in the book. The Edward in the book was a lot different from the one reading the book.

** And it was worse because Edward Cullen wasn't in school at all.**

"I hope you haven't left, Edward. It would break my heart." said Esme sadly.

** All morning I was dreading lunch, fearing his bizarre glares. Part of me wanted to confront him and demand to know what his problem was. While I was lying sleepless in my bed, I even imagined what I would say. But I knew myself too well to think I would really have the guts to do it. I made the Cowardly Lion look like the terminator.**

** But when I walked into the cafeteria with Jessica- trying to keep my eyes from sweeping the lace for him, and failing entirely - I saw that his four siblings of sorts were sitting together at the same table, and he was not with them.**

You must have really scared her. But could you imagine her confronting Edward?" Emmett wondered aloud. Then he giggled at the image in his mind. Edward just shook his head seeing the scene play out in Em's head.

** Mike intercepted us and steered us to his table. Jessica seemed elated by the attention, and her friends quickly joined us. But as I tried to listen to their easy chatter, I was terribly uncomfortable, waiting nervously for the moment he would arrive. I hoped he would simply ignore me when he came, and prove my suspicions false.**

** He didn't come, and as time passed, grew more and more tense.**

** I walked to Biology with more confidence when, by the end of lunch, he still hadn't showed. Mike, who was taking on the qualities of a golden retriever, walked faithfully by my side to class.**

All the Cullen 'children' laughed at that description. Even Edward. The parents just smiled.

** I held my breath at the door, but Edward Cullen wasn't there, either. I exhaled and went to my seat. Mike followed, talking about an upcoming trip to the beach. He lingered by my desk till the bell rang. Then he smiled at me wistfully and went to sit by a girl with braces and a bad perm. It looked like I was going to have to do something about Mike, and it wouldn't be easy. In a town like this, where everyone lived on top of everyone else, diplomacy was essential. I had never been enormously tactful; I had no practice dealing with overly friendly boys.**

"Just tell them to back off," said Rose, who had done the very same thing countless times.

"Bella is too nice to do that." said Alice.

** I was relieved that I had the desk to my self, that Edward was absent. I told myself that repeatedly. But I couldn't get rid of the nagging suspicion that I was the reason he wasn't there. It was ridiculous and egotistical, to think that I could affect anyone that strongly. It was impossible. And yet I couldn't stop worrying that it was true.**

** When the school day was finally done, and the blush was fading out of my cheeks from the volleyball incident, I changed quickly back into my jeans and navy blue sweater. I hurried from the girls locker room, pleased to find that I had successfully evaded my retriever friend for the moment. I walked swiftly out to the parking lot. It was crowded now with fleeing students. I got in my truck and dug through my bag to make sure I had what I needed.**

** Last night I'd discovered that Charlie couldn't cook much besides fried eggs and bacon. So I requested that I be assigned kitchen detail for the duration of my stay. He was willing enough to hand over the keys to the banquet hall. I also found out that he had no food in the house.**

"How in the world did he survive with no food in the house?" asked Emmett.

"He must have eaten at the diner a lot." said Esme, wishing she had someone to cook for.

** So I had my shopping list and the cash from the jar in the cupboard labeled Food Money, and I was on my way to the Thriftway.**

** I gunned my deafening engine to life, ignoring the heads that turned in my direction, and backed out carefully into a place in the line of cars that were waiting to exit the parking lot. As I waited, trying to pretend that the earsplitting rumble was coming from someone else's car, I saw the two Cullens and the Hale twins getting into their car. It was the shiny new Volvo. Of course. I hadn't noticed their clothes before- I'd been too mesmerized by their faces.**

"All the work I put into our outfits and she doesn't even notice? What kind of girl doesn't notice fashion?" said Alice with irritation in her voice.

"Something tells me that my Bella doesn't care about things like fashion. She seems to like old or vintage things. Like me!" said Edward, who was already seeing that his Bella was different from other girls.

"But still to not even look at the clothes. I'll have to do something about that." said Alice with a look of determination on her elfin face.

** Now that I looked, it was obvious that they were all dressed exceptionally well; simply, but in clothes that subtly hinted at designer origins.**

"Well I would never dress us in Walmart clothes." said Alice still a little irritated.

** With their remarkable good looks, and the style with which they carried themselves, they could have worn dishrags and pulled it off. It seemed excessive for them to have both looks and money. But as far as I could tell, life worked that way most of the time. It didn't look as if it bought them any acceptance here.**

"That's cause we choose to remain separate from the sheep," said Rosalie. Before Bella she would never want to be friends with humans, for fear of revealing too much.

** No, I didn't fully believe that. The isolation must be their desire; I couldn't imagine any door that wouldn't be opened by that degree of beauty.**

** They looked at my noisy truck as I passed them, just like everyone else. I kept my eyes straight forward and was relieved when I finally was free of the school grounds.**

** The Thriftway was not far from the school, just a few streets south, off they highway. It was nice to be inside the supermarket; it felt normal. I did the shopping at home, and I fell into the pattern of the familiar task gladly.**

"She seems to have so much responsibility put on her young shoulders." said Esme. "She took care of her mother, paid bills did the cooking, and did the shopping. And now she is doing the same for Charlie."

"Not to mention, she worries about money. No teenager should ever have to worry about things like that." said Carlisle sadly.

** The store was big enough inside that I couldn't hear the tapping of the rain on the roof to remind me where I was. **

** When I got home, I unloaded the groceries, stuffing them in wherever I could find an open space. I hoped Charlie wouldn't mind. I wrapped potatoes in foil and stuck them in the oven to bake, covered the steak in marinade and balanced it on top of a carton of eggs in the fridge.**

** When I was finished with that, I took my book bag upstairs. Before starting my homework, I changed into a pair of dry sweats, and pulled my damp hair up into a ponytail, and checked my email for the first time. I had three messages.**

** "Bella," my mom wrote…**

** Write me as soon as you get in. Tell me how your flight was. Is it raining? I miss you already. I'm almost finished packing for Florida, but I cant seem to find my pink blouse. Do you know where I put it? Phil says hi. Mom****.**

** I sighed and went to the next. It was sent eight hours after the first.**

** "Bella,'' she wrote…**

** Why havent you emailed me yet? What are you waiting for? Mom.**

** The last was from this morning.**

** Isabella, **

** If I havent heard from you by 5:30 p.m. today I'm calling Charlie.**

"Oh, someone is in trouble." said Emmett.

** I checked the clock. I still had an hour, but my mom was well known for jumping the gun.**

** Mom, **

** Calm down I'm writing right now. Don't do anything rash.**

** Bella.**

** I sent that, and then began again.**

"Why not just write a whole email, instead of sending an email that your writing." asked Emmett, confused.

"She had to make sure her mom didn't call Charlie." said Alice.

** I sent that and began again.**

** Mom,**

** Everything is great. Of course its raining. I was waiting for something to write about. School isn't bad, just a little repetitive. I met some nice kids who sit by me at lunch.**

** Your blouse is at the dry cleaners- you were supposed to pick it up Friday.**

** Charlie bought me a truck, can you believe it? I love it. Its old, but really sturdy, which is good, you know, for me.**

** I miss you too. I'll write again soon, but I'm not going to check my email every five minutes. Relax, breathe. I love you. **

** Bella.**

"She is right school is a little repetitive. Unless were in college." said Rosalie, who was starting to get tired of high school.

The siblings looked at her in agreement.

** I decided to read Wuthering Heights- the novel we were currently studying in English- yet again for the fun of it, and that's what I was doing when Charlie came home.**

"I dislike that book," Edward said.

** I'd lost track of the time, and I hurried downstairs to take the potatoes out and put the steak in to broil.**

** "Bella?" my father called out when he heard me on the stairs.**

** Who else? I thought to myself.**

** "Hey, Dad, welcome home."**

** "Thanks." He hung up his gun belt and stepped out of his boots as I bustled about the kitchen. As far as I was aware, he'd never shot the gun on the job. But he kept it ready. When I came here as a child, he would always remove the bullets as soon as he walked in the door. I guess he considered me old enough now not to shoot myself by accident, and not depressed enough to shoot myself on purpose.**

** "What's for dinner?" he asked warily. My mother was an imaginative cook, and her experiments weren't always edible. I was surprised, and sad, that he seemed to remember that far back.**

"Well, yeah with Bella being there, it is bound to bring up old memories for Charlie," said Esme, compassionately.

** "Steak and potatoes," I answered, and he looked relieved. **

** He seemed to feel awkward standing in the kitchen doing nothing; he lumbered into the living room to watch TV while I worked. We were both comfortable that way. I made a salad while the steaks cooked, and set the table. **

** I called him in when dinner was ready, and he sniffed appreciatively as he walked into the room.**

** "Smells good, Bell."**

** "Thanks."**

** We ate in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't uncomfortable. Neither of us was bothered by the quiet. In some ways, we were well suited for living together.**

** "So, how did you like school? Have you made any friends?" he asked as he was taking seconds.**

** "Well, I have a few classes with a girl named Jessica. I sit with her and her friends at lunch. And there is this boy, Mike, who's very friendly. Everybody seems pretty nice." With one outstanding exception.**

Edward hung his head**. **Every one was feeling for him.

** "That must be Mike Newton. Nice kid- nice family. His dad owns the sporting goods store just outside of town. He makes a good living off all the backpackers who come through here."**

** "Do you know the Cullen family?" I asked hesitantly.**

"Still trying to get info about us. She is going to figure it out. Sooner rather than later." said Jasper.

** "Dr. Cullen's family? Sure. Dr. Cullen's a great man."**

Carlisle smiled at the compliment.

** They…the kids…are a little different. They don't seem to fit in very well at school."**

** Charlie surprised me by looking angry.**

** "People in this town," he muttered. "Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, make ten times the salary he gets here," he continued getting louder. "We're lucky to have him- lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community, and all of those kids are well behaved and polite. I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they're all very mature- I havent had one speck of trouble from any of them. That's more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should- camping trips every other weekend…. Just because they're newcomers, people have to talk.**

"Wow, I didn't know Charlie felt that way about us." Said Carlisle looking astonished. He was elated that Charlie Swan felt that way about him. "Maybe we should befriend him before Bella gets here that way it would be more of an easy transition for Bella.

Maybe then she wont struggle so much with being here if she has real friends."

"That is a really good idea, Carlisle." said Alice who was searching the future. "It will help get Edward used to her scent."

** It was the longest speech I'd ever heard Charlie make. He must feel strongly about what ever people are saying. **

** I backpedaled. " They seem nice enough to me. I just noticed they kept to themselves. They're all very attractive," I added, trying to be more complimentary.**

** "You should see the doctor," Charlie said, laughing. "It's a good thing he is happily married. A lot of the nurses at the hospital have a hard time concentrating on their work with him around."**

Everyone laughed while Carlisle looked like he would be blushing if he could.

"I think I have to make more visits to the hospital," said Esme, good naturedly.

** We lapsed back into silence as we finished eating. He cleared the table while I started on the dishes. He went back to the TV, and after I finished washing the dishes by hand- no dishwasher- I went upstairs unwillingly to work on my math homework. I could feel a tradition in the making.**

** That night it was finally quiet. I fell asleep quickly, exhausted.**

** The rest of the week was uneventful. I got used to the routine of my classes. By Friday I was able to recognized, if not name, almost all the students at school. In Gym, the kids on my team quickly learned not to pass me the ball and to step quickly in front of me if the other team tried to take advantage of my weakness. I happily stayed out of their way.**

** Edward Cullen didn't come back to school.**

"I cant believe you left. I wonder where you went." said Esme with venom tears in her eyes, at just the thought of one of her kids missing from her presence.

"I promise I wont ever leave, Mom." he told her to cheer her up. "Now that I know what I have to look forward too, there is no way I could ever leave."

** Every day, I watched anxiously until the rest of the Cullens entered the cafeteria without him. Then I could relax and join the lunch room conversation. Mostly it centered around a trip to the La Push Ocean Park. In two weeks that Mike was putting together. I was invited, and I had agreed to go, more out of politeness than desire. Beaches should be hot and dry.**

** "**Beaches should definitely be hot and dry." Said Alice and Edward at the same time. "Not wet and cold." Continued Alice.

** By Friday I was perfectly comfortable entering my Biology class, no longer worried that Edward would be there. For all I knew, he dropped out of school. I tried not to think about him, but I couldn't totally suppress the worry that I was responsible for his continued absence, ridiculous as it seems**

"Not only does she see everything and she is really smart, but she also has great intuition." Said Edward, proudly. He knew his Bella was truly special.

** My first weekend in Forks passed without incident. Charlie, unused to spending time in the usually empty house, worked most of the weekend. I cleaned the house, got ahead on my homework, and wrote my mom more bogusly cheerful email. I did drive to the library Saturday, but it was so poorly stocked that I didn't bother to get a card; I would have to make a date to visit Olympia or Seattle soon and find a good bookstore. I wondered idly what kind of gas mileage the truck got…and shuddered at the thought.**

"If she truly loves this beast of a truck, I will do my best to bring it into this century." said Rose. Excited at the new potential mechanic job.

"Thank you Rose, but if we are going to befriend Charlie, maybe we can get him to buy a better car." Said Edward.

"Well then I will fix up that car too." she replied.

** The rain stayed soft over the weekend, quiet, so I was able to sleep well.**

** People greeted me in the parking lot Monday morning. I didn't know all their names, but I waved back and smiled at every one. It was colder this morning, but happily not raining. In English, Mike took his accustomed seat by my side. We had a pop quiz on Wuthering Heights. It was straightforward, very easy.**

** All in all, I was feeling a lot more comfortable than I had thought I would feel by this point. More comfortable than I ever expected to feel here.**

** When we walked out of class, the air was full of swirling bits of white.**

"Yay, snow!" exclaimed Emmett

"What are you, five?" asked Edward.

"Nope, about seventy five."

** I could hear people shouting excitedly to each other. The wind bit at my cheeks, my nose.**

** "Wow," Mike said. "Its snowing."**

** I looked at the little cotton fluffs that were building up along the sidewalk and swirling erratically past my face.**

** "Ew." Snow. There went my good day.**

** "**Aw, she hates snow. Who hates snow?" asked Emmett sadly. "When she gets here and it first snows we are going to show her a good time."

** He looked surprised. "Don't you like snow?"**

** "No. That means its too cold for rain." Obviously. "Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes- you know, each unique and all that. These just look like ends of Q-tips."**

** "Havent you ever seen snow fall before?" he asked incredulously.**

** "Sure I have." I paused. "On TV."**

Everyone laughed a little at her joke.

** Mike laughed. And then a big, squishy ball of dripping snow smacked the back of his head.**

Once again the siblings all cracked up laughing.

** We both turned to see where it came from. I had my suspicions about Eric, who was walking away, his back toward us- in the wrong direction for his next class. Mike apparently had the same notion. He bent over and began scraping together a pile of the white mush.**

** "I'll see you at lunch, okay?" I kept walking as I spoke. "Once people start throwing wet stuff, I go inside."**

** He just nodded, his eyes on Eric's retreating figure.**

** Throughout the morning, everyone chattered excitedly about the snow; apparently it was the first snowfall of the new year. I kept my mouth shut. Sure, it was drier than rain- until it melted in your socks.**

"Awesome, we get snow in the new year and Edward only has to wait two months till Bella gets here." said Emmett. Edward had an excited but nervous look on his face.

"Can we lower the excitement? I feel like I am going to start bouncing like Alice." asked Jasper.

** I walked alertly to the cafeteria with Jessica after Spanish. Mush balls were flying everywhere. I kept a binder in my hands, ready to use it as a shield if necessary. Jessica thought I was hilarious, but something in my expression kept her from lobbing a snowball at me herself. **

"If I was there with her no one would dare throw a snowball at my Bella." said Edward.

** Mike caught up to us as we walked in the doors, laughing, with ice melting the spikes in his hair. He and Jessica were talking animatedly about the snow fight as we got in line to buy food. I glanced toward the table in the corner out of habit. And then I froze where I stood. There were five people at the table.**

"You were gone a whole week," said Esme sadly.

"It hasn't happened yet Mom, and now it never will." said Edward to appease her. After a minute she looked happier.

** Jessica pulled on my arm.**

** "Hello? Bella? What do you want?"**

** I looked down; my ears were hot. I had no reason to feel self-conscious, I reminded myself. I hadn't done anything wrong.**

"Aw, you made her feel self - conscious." said Alice.

"I didn't mean to. I was trying to keep from killing her." said Edward. "This wont happen in this reality." he added determinedly.

** "What's with Bella?" Mike asked Jessica.**

** "Nothing," I answered. "I'll just get a soda today." ai caught up to the end of the line.**

** "Aren't you hungry?" Jessica asked.**

** "Actually, I feel a little sick," I said, my eyes still on the floor.**

** I waited for them to get their food, and then followed them to a table, my eyes on my feet.**

** I sipped my soda slowly, my stomach churning. Twice Mike asked, with unnecessary concern, how I was feeling.**

"Mike is starting to get on my nerves," muttered Edward.

** I told him it was nothing, but I was wondering if I **_**should **_**play it up and escape to the nurse's office for the next hour.**

** Ridiculous. I shouldn't have to run away.**

** I decided to permit myself on glance at the Cullen table. If he was glaring at me, I would skip Biology, like the coward I was. **

** I kept my head down and glanced up under my lashes. None of them were looking this way. I lifted my head a little.**

** They were laughing. Edward, Jasper, and Emmett all had their hair entirely saturated with melting snow. Alice and Rosalie were leaning away as Emmett shook his dripping hair toward them. They were enjoying the snowy day, just like everyone else- only they looked more like a scene from a movie than the rest of us.**

"That's cause it probably was a scene. To make her feel more comfortable. Set up by me. I probably already had a vision that she would be my sister some day." said Alice.

** But, aside from the laughter and playfulness, there was something different, and I couldn't quite pinpoint what that difference was. I examined Edward the most carefully. His skin was less pale, I decided- flushed from the snow fight maybe- the circles under his eyes much less noticeable. But there was something more. I pondered, staring, trying to isolate the change.**

"I'm surprised she hasn't noticed it yet, what with how observant she is." said Jasper.

** "Bella, what are you staring at?" Jessica intruded, her eyes following my stare.**

** At that precise moment, his eyes flashed over to meet mine.**

** I dropped my head, letting my hair fall to conceal my face. I was sure, though, in the instant our eyes met, that he didn't look harsh or unfriendly as he had the last time I'd seen him. He looked merely curious again, unsatisfied in some way.**

** "Edward Cullen is staring at you," Jessica giggled in my ear.**

** "He doesn't look angry does he?" I couldn't help asking.**

** "No," she said, sounding confused by my question. "Should he be?"**

** "I don't think he likes me," I confided. I still felt queasy. I put my head down on my arm.**

** "The Cullens don't like anybody… well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them. But he's still staring at you."**

** "Stop looking at him," I hissed.**

** She snickered, but she looked away. I raised my head enough to make sure that she did, contemplating violence if she resisted.**

"She is like a little kitten that thinks it's a tiger." said Edward, laughing. "I wonder if she blushes when she is angry."

** Mike interrupted us then- he was planning an epic battle of the blizzard in the parking lot after school and wanted us to join.**

"Something tells me Bella is going to try to miss that 'epic battle'" said Jasper. "She seems to hate the rain and the cold."

"Then how can she ever love me?" asked Edward, sullenly. "My skin to a human is ice cold."

"I think she will love you not because you are cold, but because you have a warm heart." said Esme, lovingly. All the girls nodded in agreement.

** Jessica agreed enthusiastically. The way she looked at Mike left little doubt that she would be up for anything he suggested. I kept silent. I would have to hide in the gym until the parking lot cleared.**

"Ha, I knew it." Jasper said.

** For the rest of the lunch hour I very carefully kept my eyes at my own table. I decided to honor the bargain I'd made with my self. Since he didn't look angry, I would go to Biology. My stomach did frightened little flips at the thought of sitting next to him again. **

** I didn't really want to walk to class with Mike as usual- he seemed to be a popular target for the snowball snipers- but when we went to the door, everyone besides me groaned in unison. It was raining, washing all traces of the snow away in clear, icy ribbons down the side of the walkway. I pulled my hood up, secretly pleased. I would be free to go straight home after Gym.**

"Aw, I was wanting to hear about the epic snow battle," cried Emmett.

** Mike kept up a string of complaints on the whole way to building four.**

** Once inside the classroom, I saw with relief that my table was still empty. Mr. Banner was walking around the room, distributing one microscope and box of slides to each table. Class didn't start for a few minutes, and the room buzzed with conversation. I kept my eyes away from the door, doodling idly on the cover of my notebook.**

** I heard very clearly when the chair next to me moved, but my eyes stayed carefully focused on the pattern I was drawing.**

** "Hello," said a quiet, musical voice.**

"Finally we get to hear from Edward." said Rosalie.

"Maybe he will finally realize she is his mate." said Carlisle.

"Well, Bella already seems obsessed with him. She must already feel the mating pull. Even though it hasn't been identified yet." said Alice. "She thinks his voice is musical." she teased.

** I looked up, stunned that he was speaking to me. He was sitting as far away from me as the desk allowed, but his chair was angled toward me. His hair was dripping wet, disheveled- even so, he looked like he'd just finished shooting a commercial for hair gel. His dazzling face was friendly, open, slight smile on his flawless lips. But his eyes were careful.**

"Are we going to be hearing about how Edward is dazzling and perfect and flawless he is? He is going to get a bigger head than he already has." said Rosalie playfully.

"I don't have a big head." Edward grumbled.

** "My name is Edward Cullen," he continued. "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan."**

"Mistake number one. You called her by her nickname." said Jasper. "Everyone around here seems to know her by her by Isabella."

** My mind was spinning with confusion. Had I made up the whole thing? He was perfectly polite now. I had to speak; he was waiting. But I couldn't think of anything conventional to say.**

** "H-how do you know my name?" I stammered.**

** He laughed a soft, enchanting laugh. **

** "Oh, I think everyone knows your name. The whole town's been waiting for you to arrive."**

** I grimaced. I knew it was something like that.**

** "No," I persisted stupidly. "I meant, why did you call me Bella?"**

** He seemed confused. "Do you prefer Isabella?"**

** "No, I like Bella," I said. "But I think Charlie- I mean my dad- must call me Isabella behind my back- that's what everyone around here seems to know me as," I tried to explain, feeling like an utter moron.**

"Why didn't you pick that tidbit out of her mind?" asked Carlisle. "I seems like you cant read her mind."

"That cant be. I never met anyone I couldn't read." said Edward.

Wouldn't that be ironic if Edward's mate is the only one he cant hear." said Esme.

"And knowing me, I would want to know what is going through Bella's mind."

** "Oh." He let it drop. I looked away awkwardly.**

** Thankfully, Mr. Banner started class at that moment. I tried to concentrate as he explained the lab we would be doing today. The slides in the box were out of order. Working as lab partners, we had to separate the slides of onion root tip cells into phases of mitosis they represented and label them accordingly. We weren't supposed to use our books. In twenty minutes, he would be coming around to see who had it right.**

** "Get started," he commanded.**

** "Ladies first, partner?" Edward asked. I looked up to see him smiling a crooked smile so beautiful that I could only stare at him like an idiot.**

"I hate that she keeps referring to herself as an idiot or a moron." Edward complained. "She is definitely not an idiot. She is truly very bright." He added lovingly.

** "Or I could start, if you wish." The smile faded; he was obviously wondering if I was mentally competent.**

"I really think you cant read her mind," said Carlisle.

"I am beginning to agree with you," said Edward.

** "No," I said, flushing. "I'll go ahead."**

** I was showing off, just a little. I'd already done this lab, and I knew what I was looking for. It should be easy. I snapped the first slide into the place under the microscope and adjusted it quickly to the 40X objective. I studied the slide briefly.**

** My assessment was confident. "Prophase."**

** "Do you mind if I look?" he asked as I began to remove the slide. His hand caught mine, to stop me, as he asked. His fingers were ice-cold, like he'd been holding them in a snowdrift before class. But that wasn't why I jerked my hand away so quickly. When he touched me, it stung my hand as if an electric current had passed through us.**

"That's what happens when you touch your mate for the first time." said Carlisle. "You would have felt it too. You will feel it when you meet Bella."

** "I'm sorry," he muttered, pulling his hand back immediately. However, he continued to reach for the microscope. I watched him, still staggered, as he examined the slide for an even shorter time than I had.**

** "Prophase," he agreed, writing it neatly in the first space on our worksheet. He swiftly switched out the first slide for the second, and then glanced at it cursorily.**

** "Anaphase," he murmured, writing it down as he spoke.**

** I kept my voice indifferent. "May I?"**

** He smirked and pushed the microscope to me.**

** I looked through the eyepiece eagerly, only to be disappointed. Dang it, he was right.**

"Yeah, cause he's only done it about sixty times." said Emmett laughing.

** "Slide three?" I held out my hand without looking at him.**

** He handed it to me; it seemed like he was being careful not to touch my skin again.**

** I took the most fleeting look I could manage.**

** "Interphase." I passed him the microscope before he could ask for it. He took a swift peek, and then wrote it down. I would have written it while he looked, but his clear, elegant script intimidated me. I didn't want to spoil the page with my clumsy scrawl. **

** We finished before anyone was even close. I could see Mike and his partner comparing two slides again and again, and another group had their book open under the table.**

"Such cheaters," said Rosalie.

** Which left me with nothing to do but try not to look at him…unsuccessfully. I glanced up, and he was staring at me, that same inexplicable look of frustration in his eyes. Suddenly I identified that subtle difference in his face.**

"She finally figured it out," said Jasper.

"Figured what out?" asked Em.

"That our eyes change color."

** "Did you get contacts?" I blurted out unthinkingly.**

** He seemed puzzled by my unexpected question. "No."**

** "Oh," I mumbled. "I thought there was something different about your eyes."**

** He shrugged, and looked away.**

** In fact, I was sure there was something different. I vividly remembered the flat black color of his eyes the last time he'd glared at me- the color was striking against the background of his pale skin and his auburn hair. Today, his eyes were a completely different color: a strange ocher, darker than butterscotch, but with the same golden tone. I didn't understand how that could be, unless he was lying for some reason about the contacts. Or maybe Forks was making me crazy in the literal sense of the word.**

"Out of all the people in this town she is the only one to notice that our eyes change." said Rosalie impressed by the human.

"That's cause my Bella misses nothing." said Edward proudly.

** I looked down. His hands were clenched into hard fists again.**

** Mr. Banner came to our table then, to see why we weren't working. He looked over our shoulders to glance at the completed lab, and then stared more intently to check the answers.**

** "So, Edward, didn't you think Isabella should get a chance with the microscope?" Mr. Banner asked.**

** "Bella," Edward corrected automatically. "Actually, she identified three of the five."**

** Mr. Banner looked at me now; his expression was skeptical.**

"That seems a little sexist." said Esme. "Like a girl cant be good for science."

** "Have you done this lab before?" he asked.**

** I smiled sheepishly. "Not with onion root."**

** "Whitefish blastula?"**

** "Yeah."**

** Mr. Banner nodded. "Were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix?"**

** "Yes."**

** "Well," he said after a moment, "I guess its good you two are lab partners." He mumbled something else as he walked away. After he left, I began doodling on my notebook again.**

** "Its too bad about the snow, isn't it?" Edward asked. I had the feeling that he was forcing himself to make small talk with me. Paranoia swept over me again. It was like he had heard my conversation with Jessica at lunch and was trying to prove me wrong.**

** "Not really," I answered honestly, instead of pretending to be normal like everyone else. I was still trying to dislodge the stupid feeling of suspicion, and I couldn't concentrate.**

** "You don't like the cold." It wasn't a question.**

** "Or the wet."**

** "Forks must be a difficult place for you to live," he mused.**

** "You have no idea," I muttered darkly.**

** He looked fascinated by what I said, for some reason I couldn't imagine. His face was such a distraction that I tried not to look at it any more than courtesy absolutely demanded. **

** "Why did you come here, then?"**

** No one had asked me that- not straight out like he did, demanding. **

** "**That was rude, Edward." said Esme, looking at him.

"Sorry, Mom." he apologized. Although he had no reason to. This book conversation didn't and probably wouldn't happen now.

** "It's…complicated."**

** "I think I can keep up," he pressed.**

** I paused for a long moment, and then made the mistake of meeting his gaze. His dark gold eyes confused me, and I answered with out thinking.**

** "My mother got remarried," I said.**

"That doesn't seem so bad." said Jasper.

** "That doesn't sound so complex," he disagreed, but he was suddenly sympathetic. "When did that happen?"**

** "Last September." My voice sounded sad, even to me.**

** "And you don't like him," Edward surmised, his tone still kind. **

** "No, Phil is fine. Too young, maybe, but nice enough."**

** "Why didn't you stay with them?"**

** I couldn't fathom his interest, but he continued to stare at me with penetrating eyes, as if my dull life's story was somehow vitally important.**

"To me it is important." said Edward.

** "Phil travels a lot. He plays ball for a living." I half smiled.**

"I wonder if we heard of him." wondered Emmett aloud.

** "Have I heard of him?" he asked, smiling in response.**

** "Probably not. He doesn't play **_**well**_**. Strictly minor league. He moves around a lot."**

** "And your mother sent you here so that she could travel with him." He said it as an assumption again, not a question.**

** My chin raised a fraction. "No, she did not send me here. I sent myself."**

** His eyebrows knit together. "I don't understand," he admitted, and he seemed unnecessarily frustrated by that fact.**

"It must be disconcerting to not hear someone's thoughts when you are so used to that." Said Alice. "I don't know what I do with out my visions."

"I think Bella is a shield." said Carlisle, thoughtfully. "A mental shield. We would have to ask Eleazer to be sure."

** I sighed. Why was I explaining this to him? He continued to stare at me with obvious curiosity.**

** "She stayed with me at first, but she missed. It made her unhappy…so I decided it was time to spend some quality time with Charlie." My voice was glum by the time I finished.**

"Bella sounds like the classic martyr." said Rosalie.

** "But now you're unhappy," he pointed out.**

** "And?" I challenged.**

** "That doesn't seem fair." He shrugged, but his eyes were still intense.**

** I laughed without humor. "Hasn't anyone ever told you? Life isn't fair."**

** "I believe I **_**have**_** heard that somewhere before," he agreed dryly.**

** "So that's all," I insisted, wondering why he was still staring at me that way.**

** His gaze became appraising. "You put on a good show," he said slowly. "But I'd be willing to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone see."**

** I grimaced at him, resisting the impulse to stick out my tongue like a five-year-old, and looked away.**

** "Am I wrong?"**

** I tried to ignore him.**

** "I didn't think so," he murmured smugly.**

** "Why does it matter to you?" I asked, irritated. I kept my eyes away, watching the teacher make his rounds.**

** "That's a very good question," he muttered so quietly that I wondered if he was talking to himself. However, after a few seconds of silence, I decided that it was the only answer I was going to get.**

** I sighed, scowling at the blackboard.**

** "Am I annoying you?" he asked. He sounded amused.**

"Edward! Why are you trying to make her mad?" asked Esme.

"Probably because I like her kitten anger," he said chuckling.

** I glanced at him I without thinking…and told the truth again. "Not exactly. I'm more annoyed at myself. My face is so easy to read- my mother always called me her open book." I frowned.**

"So that is the reason for the chapter title," said Emmett.

** "On the contrary, I find you very difficult to read." Despite everything that I'd said and he'd guessed, he sounded like he meant it.**

"I think you just admitted that you cant read her mind, in so many words," said Carlisle still intrigued by someone who is a possible shield.

** "You must be a good reader then," I replied.**

"**Usually." He smiled widely, flashing a set of perfect, ultra white teeth.**

"Don't scare the poor girl," Said Esme.

** Mr. Banner called the class to order then, and I turned with relief to listen. I was in disbelief that I'd just explained my dreary life to this bizarre, beautiful boy who may or may not despise me. He'd seemed engrossed in our conversation, but now I could see, from the corner of my eye, that he was leaning away from me again, his hands gripping the edge of the table with unmistakable tension. **

"Don't break the table Edward," said Jasper. He was starting to act like Emmett talking to the book. Edward pointed that out and Jasper grimaced but then laughed.

** I tried to appear attentive as Mr. Banner illustrated, with transparencies on the overhead projector, what I had seen without difficulty through the microscope. But my thoughts were unmanageable.**

** When the bell finally rang, Edward rushed as swiftly and gracefully from the room as he had last Monday. And, like last Monday, I stared after him in amazement.**

"Don't walk too fast you'll reveal our secret," Rose huffed.

** Mike skipped quickly to my side and picked up my books for me. I imagined him with a wagging tail.**

All the Cullens laughed, with Edward being the loudest.

** "That was awful," he groaned. "They all looked exactly the same. You're lucky you had Cullen for a partner."**

** "I didn't have trouble with it," I said stung by his assumption. I regretted the snub instantly. "I've done the lab before, though," I added before he could get his feelings hurt.**

** "Cullen seemed friendly enough today," he commented as we shrugged into our raincoats. He didn't seem pleased about it.**

"Too bad, so sad." said Edward smugly.

** I tried to sound indifferent. "I wonder what was with him last Monday."**

** I couldn't concentrate on Mike's chatter as we walked to Gym, and P.E. didn't do much to hold my attention, either. Mike was on my team today. He chivalrously covered my position as well as his own, so my woolgathering was only interrupted when it was my turn to serve; my team ducked warily out of the way every time I was up.**

** The rain was just a mist as I walked to the parking lot, but I was happier when I was in the dry cab. I got the heater running, for once not caring about the mind-numbing roar of the engine. I unzipped my jacket, put the hood down, and fluffed my damp hair out so the heater could dry it on the way home.**

** I looked around me to make sure it was clear. That's when I noticed the still white figure. Edward Cullen was leaning against the front door of the Volvo, three cars down from me, and staring intently in my direction. I swiftly looked away and threw the truck into reverse, almost hitting a rusty Toyota Corolla in my haste. Luckily for the Toyota, I stomped on the break in time. It was just the sort of car that my truck would make scrap metal out of**. **I took a deep breath, still looking out the other side of my car, and cautiously pulled out again, with greater success. I stared straight ahead as I passed the Volvo, but from a peripheral peek, I would swear I saw him laughing.**

"Why would you laugh at her almost getting into an accident?" asked Carlisle, obviously not thinking it was funny.

"I think I was laughing at her expression," Edward said trying to appease his father.

"Well that was the end of the chapter," Esme announced. "Who wants to read next?"

"I'll read," said Jasper.


	4. Chapter 4

SM owns all. I just like playing with her characters

Thank you again for the great reviews. I read every single one of them.

3. "Phenomenon." read Jasper.

"Maybe this is when she figures out the secret." Emmett said excitedly.

"In the book reality that wouldn't be a good thing" said Rose suddenly. She realized that it wouldn't be good if Bella found out the secret. It could possibly be disastrous. She explained that to the family. Now they were all thinking of ways to evade the Volturi.

"We would have to keep her hidden until she was changed." Alice said, her eyes glazed over as she looked to the future.

"That's the best possible solution, unless the Volturi decide to make a sudden visit." she added.

Edward was suddenly nervous about meeting Bella. Well, more nervous than he already was. "Maybe I shouldn't meet her."

"No, Edward!" Esme exclaimed. "You have to meet your one true love. You have been alone too long."

"Maybe we should wait and see what the book says." said Carlisle.

Jasper continued.

** When I opened my eyes in the morning, something was different.**

** It was the light. It was still the gray-green light of a cloudy day in the forest, but it was clearer somehow. I realized there was no fog veiling my window.**

** I jumped up to look outside, and then groaned in horror.**

** A fine layer of snow covered the yard, dusted the top of my truck, and whitened the road. But that wasn't the worst part. All the rain from yesterday had frozen solid-coating the needles on the trees in fantastic, gorgeous patterns, and making the driveway a deadly ice slick. I had enough trouble not falling down when the ground was dry; it might be safer for me to go back to bed now.**

Everyone laughed at that. Specially Emmett with his booming laugh.

** Charlie had left for work before I got downstairs. In a lot of ways, living with Charlie was like having my own place, and I found myself reveling in the aloneness instead of being lonely.**

"That's odd. Most teenagers hate being alone." said Carlisle.

** I threw down a quick bowl of cereal and some orange juice from the carton. I felt excited to go to school, and that scared me. I knew it wasn't the stimulating learning environment I was anticipating, or seeing my new set of friends. If I was being honest with myself, I knew I was eager to get to school because I would see Edward Cullen. And that was very, very stupid.**

By the end of the paragraph, Edward was grinning like a fool. He loved that Bella wanted to see him. Even if he was dangerous.

"Man, she's already got it bad for you, Ed." laughed Emmett seeing Edward's smile.

** I should be avoiding him entirely after my brainless and embarrassing babbling yesterday. And I was suspicious of him' why should he lie about his eyes? I was still frightened of the hostility I sometimes felt emanating from him, and I was still tongue-tied whenever I pictured his perfect face. I was well aware that my league and his league were spheres that did not touch. So I shouldn't be at all anxious to see him today.**

"She is upset about liking me." said Edward, his smile gone.

"Of course she is, what with all the mixed signals you are giving her." said Rose.

** It took every ounce of my concentration to make it down the icy brick driveway alive. I almost lost my balance when I finally got to the truck, but I managed to cling to the side mirror and save myself. Clearly, today was going to be nightmarish.**

** Driving to school, I distracted myself from my fear of falling and my unwanted speculations about Edward Cullen by thinking about Mike and Eric,**

"Why in the world would she want to think about them?" asked Rosalie with disgust.

"Rose, be nice," said Esme sternly.

** And the obvious difference in how teenage boys responded to me here. I was sure I looked the same as I had back in Phoenix. Maybe it was just that the boys back home had watched me pass slowly through all the awkward phases of adolescence and still thought of my that way. Perhaps it was because I was a novelty here, where novelties were few and far between. Possibly my crippling clumsiness was seen as endearing rather than pathetic, casting me as the damsel in distress.**

'Why do I get the feeling that I will be saving her a lot?" asked Edward with concern.

** Whatever the reason, Mike's puppy dog behavior and Eric's apparent rivalry with him were disconcerting. I wasn't sure if I didn't prefer being ignored.**

** My truck seemed to have no problem with the black ice that covered the roads. I drove very slowly, though, not wanting to carve a path of destruction through Main Street.**

Emmett laughed at that, picturing it in his head. Edward just shook his head, seeing the images in his head.

** When I got out of my truck at school, I saw why I'd had so little trouble. Something silver caught my eye, and I walked to the back of the truck- carefully holding the side for support- to examine my tires. There were thin chains crisscrossed in diamond shapes around them. Charlie had gotten up who knows how early to put snow chains on my truck.**

"Aw, Charlie is a really good dad." said Esme with emotion. "He must really love her."

Edward suddenly felt bad. How was he supposed to take Charlie's only daughter away from him? Everyone noticed his expression and asked in their minds what was wrong. He voiced his concern.

"We will figure it out son," said Carlisle.

** My throat suddenly felt tight. I wasn't used to being taken care of, and Charlie's unspoken concern caught me by surprise.**

** I was standing by the back corner of the truck, struggling to fight back the sudden wave of emotion the snow chains had brought on, when I heard an odd sound.**

** It was a high-pitched screech, and it was fast becoming painfully loud. I looked up startled.**

** I saw several things simultaneously. Nothing was moving in slow motion, the way it does in the movies. Instead, the adrenaline rush seemed to make my brain work much faster, and I was able to absorb in clear detail several things at once.**

** Edward Cullen was standing four cars down from me, staring at me in horror. His face stood out in a sea of faces, all frozen in the same mask of shock. But of more immediate importance was the dark blue ban that was skidding, tires locked and squealing against the brakes, spinning wildly across the ice of the parking lot. It was going to hit the back corner of my truck, and I was standing between them.**

"No!" Edward screamed. "Please let me save her." he added frantically.

Jasper hurried to keep reading to calm Edward and to see what happens.

** I didn't even have time to close my eyes.**

** Just before I heard the shattering crunch or the van folding around the truck bed, something hit me, hard, but not from the direction I was expecting. **

"Oh, thank God," breathed Edward. "I hope I got there in time."

** "My head cracked against the icy blacktop, and I felt something solid and cold pinning me to the ground. **

"I hope she doesn't have a concussion." said Carlisle.

**I was lying on the pavement behind the tan car I'd parked next to. But I didn't have a chance to notice anything else, because the van was still coming. It had curled gratingly around the end of the truck and, still spinning and sliding, was about to collide with me again.**

"Shit! I really hope this doesn't happen in real life." said Edward. "Well, I want to find my mate but not this accident."

"Edward, language!" said Esme. "There are ladies present."

** A low oath made me aware that someone was with me, and the voice was impossible not to recognize. Two long white hands shot out protectively in front of me, and the van shuddered to a stop a foot from my face, the large hands fitting providentially into a deep dent in the side of the van's body.**

** Then his hands moved so fast they blurred. One was suddenly gripping under the body of the van, and something was dragging me, swinging my legs around like a rag doll's till they hit the tire of the tan car. A groaning metallic thud hurt my ears, and the van settled, glass popping, onto the asphalt- exactly where, a second ago my legs had been.**

"Edward, I'm glad you saved Bella, but you could of exposed us to the humans." Said Rose after hearing the paragraph.

** It was absolutely silent for one long second before the screaming began. In the abrupt bedlam, I could hear more than one person shouting my name. But more clearly than all the yelling, I could hear Edward Cullen's low, frantic voice in my ear.**

** "Bella? Are you all right?"**

** "I'm fine." my voice sounded strange, and realized he was holding me against the side of his body in an iron grasp**

** "Be careful," he warned as I struggled. "I think you hit your head pretty hard."**

** I became aware of a throbbing ache centered above my left ear.**

"I hope I didn't hurt her." hoped Edward.

** "Ow," I said, surprised**

** "That's what I thought." His voice, amazingly, sounded like he was suppressing laughter.**

"Why in the heck would you laugh at her for getting hurt?" asked Alice.

"I don't know Alice. The Edward in the book is way different than me."

** "How in the…" I trailed off, trying to clear my head, get my bearings. "How did you get over here so fast?"**

"So she remembers at least seeing you by your car." said Jasper. "I wonder what else she seen."

** "I was standing right next to you, Bella," he said, his tone serious again.**

"Something tells me she is going to see right through that." says Alice.

** I turned to sit up, and this time he let me, releasing his hold around my waist and sliding as far from me as he could in the limited space. I looked at his concerned, innocent expression and was disoriented again by the force of his gold-colored eyes. What was I asking him?**

** And then they found us, a crowd of people with tears streaming down their faces, shouting at each other, shouting at us.**

** "Don't move," someone instructed.**

** "Get Tyler out of the van!" someone else shouted.**

** There was a flurry of activity around us. I tried to get up, but Edward's cold hand pushed my shoulder down.**

** "Just stay put for now."**

** "But its cold," I complained. It surprised me when he chuckled under his breath. There was an edge to the sound.**

** "You were over there," I suddenly remembered, and his chuckle stopped short. "You were by your car."**

** His expression turned hard. "No, I wasn't."**

"She's not gonna let that go." chuckled Emmett.

"I realized that now," replied Edward.

** "I saw you." All around us was chaos. I could hear the gruffer voices of adults arriving on the scene. But I obstinately held on to our argument; I was right and he was going to admit it.**

"I knew it. She is gonna be as stubborn as a mule." Em said still laughing. "You two were meant for each other. She's just as stubborn as you."

"I'm not stubborn." said Edward unconvincingly.

** "Bella, I was standing with you, and I pulled you out of the way." He unleashed the full, devastating power of his eyes on me, as if trying to communicate something crucial.**

** "No." I set my jaw.**

** The gold in his eyes blazed. "Please, Bella."**

** "Why?" I demanded.**

** "Trust me," he pleaded, his soft voice overwhelming.**

** I could hear the sirens now. "Will you promise to explain everything to me later?"**

** "Fine," he snapped, abruptly exasperated.**

** "Fine," I repeated angrily.**

"Great now I got to break a promise to her now." said Edward morosely.

** It took six EMTs and two teachers- Mr. Varner and Coach Clapp- to shift the van far enough away from us to bring the stretchers in. Edward vehemently refused his, and I tried to do the same, but the traitor told them I'd hit my head and probably had a concussion. I almost died of humiliation when they put on the neck brace. It looked like the entire school was there, watching soberly as they loaded me in the back of the ambulance. Edward got to ride in the front. It was maddening.**

** To make matters worse, Chief Swan arrived before they could get me safely away. **

** "Bella!" he yelled in panic when he recognized me on the stretcher.**

** "I'm completely fine, Char-Dad," I sighed. "There's nothing wrong with me."**

** He turned to the closest EMT for a second opinion. I tuned him out to consider the jumble of inexplicable images churning chaotically in my head. When they'd lifted me away from the car, I had seen the deep dent in the tan car's bumper- a very distinct dent that fit the contours of Edward's shoulders… as if he had braced himself against the car with enough force to damage the metal frame….**

"Wow she misses nothing." said Carlisle impressed by his new human daughter.

** And then there was his family, looking on from the distance, with expressions that ranged from disapproval to fury but held no hint of concern for their brother's safety.**

"If that ever happens in real life, we might want to work on that." said Jasper. "It might bring us unwanted attention."

** I tried to think of a logical solution that could explain what I had just seen- a solution that excluded the assumption that I was insane.**

** Naturally, the ambulance got a police escort to the county hospital. I felt ridiculous the whole time they were unloading me. What made it worse was that Edward simply glided through the hospital doors under his own power. I ground my teeth together.**

"Dang it, I'm gonna lose the bet." said Emmett in annoyance.

Jasper laughed at him.

** They put me in the emergency room, a long room with a line of beds separated by pastel-patterned curtains. A nurse put a pressure cuff on my arm and a thermometer under my tongue. Since no one bothered pulling the curtain around to give me some privacy, I decided I wasn't obligated to wear the stupid looking neck brace anymore. When the nurse walked away, I quickly unfastened the Velcro and threw it under the bed.**

"She shouldn't have done that." said Carlisle slipping into doctor mode. Edward and Rosalie agreed, having both been to medical school.

** There was another flurry of hospital personnel, another stretcher brought to the bed next to me. I recognized Tyler Crowley from my Government class beneath the bloodstained bandages wrapped tightly around his head. Tyler looked a hundred times worse than I felt. But he was staring anxiously at me.**

** "Bella, I'm so sorry!"**

"He better be sorry, he almost got us exposed and almost killed Bella." said Rose with anger in her voice.

** "I'm fine, Tyler- you look awful, are you alright?"**

** As we spoke, nurses began unwinding his soiled bandages, exposing a myriad of shallow slices all over his forehead and left cheek.**

** He ignored me. "I thought I was going to kill you! I was going to fast, and I hit the ice wrong…" He winced as one nurse started dabbing at his face.**

** "Don't worry about it; you missed me."**

** "How did you get out of the way so fast? You were there, and then you were gone…."**

** "Um…Edward pulled me out of the way."**

** He looked confused. "Who?"**

** "Edward Cullen- he was standing next to me." I'd always been a terrible liar; I didn't sound convincing at all.**

** "Cullen? I didn't see him… wow, it was all so fast, I guess. Is he okay?"**

** "I think so. He's here somewhere, but they didn't make him use a stretcher."**

** I knew I wasn't crazy. What had happened? There was no way to explain away what I'd seen.**

** They wheeled me away then, to X-ray my head. I told them there was nothing wrong, and I was right. Not even a concussion. I asked if I could leave, but the nurse said I had to talk to a doctor first. So I was trapped in the ER, waiting harassed by Tyler's constant apologies and promises to make it up to me. No matter how many times I tried to convince him I was fine, he continued to torment himself. Finally, I closed my eyes and ignored him. He kept up a remorseful mumbling.**

** "Is she sleeping?" a musical voice asked. My eyes flew open.**

** Edward was standing at the foot of my bed, smirking. I glared at him. It wasn't easy- it would have been more natural to ogle.**

Hearing that, everyone laughed. If Edward could blush, his cheeks would be bright red. As it was he was smiling.

** "Hey, Edward, I'm really sorry-" Tyler began.**

** Edward lifted a hand to stop him.**

** "No blood, no foul," he said, flashing his brilliant teeth.**

"That was a really bad joke, Ed" said Jasper.

** He moved to sit on the edge of Tyler's bed, facing me. He smirked again.**

** "So what's the verdict?" he asked me.**

"As if you don't know already," said Carlisle. "You probably looked at the films before I did." he added smirking himself.

** "There's nothing wrong with me at all, but they wont let me go," I complained. "How come you arent strapped to a gurney like the rest of us?"**

** "Its all about who you know," he answered. "But don't worry, I came to spring you."**

** Then a doctor walked around the corner, and my mouth fell open. He was young, he was blond…and he was handsomer than any movie star I'd ever seen.**

Everyone laughed again, except Carlisle who looked like he would be blushing now and Esme who looked full of pride.

"At least she has great taste. Too bad he is taken." said Esme smiling at her husband.

** He was pale, though, and tired-looking, with circles under his eyes. From Charlie's description, this had to be Edward's father.**

** "So, Miss Swan," Dr. Cullen said in a remarkably appealing voice, "How are you feeling?"**

** "I'm fine," I said for the last time, I hoped.**

** He walked to the light board on the wall over my head, and turned it on.**

** "Your X-rays look good," he said. "Does your head hurt? Edward said you hit it pretty hard."**

** "It's fine," I repeated with a sigh, throwing a quick scowl toward Edward.**

** The doctor's cool fingers probed lightly along my skull. He noticed when I winced.**

** "Tender?" he asked.**

** "Not really." I'd had worse.**

** I heard a chuckle, and looked over to see Edward's patronizing smile. My eyes narrowed.**

"Uh oh Ed. Your gonna get it now." Laughed Em.

** "Well, your father is in the waiting room- you can go home with him now. But come back if you feel dizzy or have trouble with your eyesight at all."**

** "Cant I go back to school?" I asked, imagining Charlie trying to be attentive.**

** "Maybe you should take it easy today."**

** I glanced at Edward. "Does he get to go to school?"**

** "Someone has to spread the good news that we survived," Edward said smugly.  
>"Actually," Dr. Cullen corrected, "most of the school seems to be in the waiting room."<strong>

** "Oh no," I moaned, covering my face with my hands.**

** Dr. Cullen raised his eyebrows. "Do you want to stay?"**

** "No, no!" I insisted, throwing my legs over the side of the bed and hopping down quickly. Too quickly- I staggered, and Dr. Cullen caught me. He looked concerned.**

** "I'm fine," I assured him again. No need to tell him my balance problems had nothing to do with hitting my head.**

** "Take some Tylenol for the pain," he suggested as he steadied me.**

** "It doesn't hurt that bad," I insisted.**

** "It sounds like you were extremely lucky," Dr. Cullen said, smiling as he signed my chart with a flourish.**

** "Lucky Edward happened to be standing next to me," I amended with a hard glance at the subject of my statement.**

** "Oh, well, yes," Dr. Cullen agreed, suddenly occupied with the papers in front of him. Then he looked away, at Tyler, and walked to the next bed. My intuition flickered; the doctor was in on it**

"She is really perceptive. To pick up on that." said Jasper.

"And it appears I have to work on my lying skills," said Carlisle.

** "I'm afraid that you'll have to stay with us just a little bit longer," he said to Tyler, and began checking his cuts.**

"How are you able to resist Tyler's blood? I mean he is openly bleeding. It doesn't even seem to phase you." asked Alice who had been mostly quiet during the chapter.

"Maybe it is because Bella smells better than he does." replied Edward. "And it seems like I made up my mind about not wanting to kill her.

"Plus, Edward is really strong willed." said Esme with pride in her voice for her favorite son.

** As soon as the doctor's back was turned, I moved to Edward's side.**

** "Can I talk to you for a minute?" I hissed under my breath. He took a step back from me, his jaw suddenly clenched.**

"She got too close to me." said Edward. "So maybe I havent totally made up my mind about her yet."

"But you believe she is your mate in this reality?" asked Rosalie. She wanted to make sure Edward really loved her.

"I havent even met her yet, but I can honestly say I love her with everything in me." Edward replied. He had the happiest look on his face.

** "Your father is waiting for you," he said through his teeth.**

** I glanced at Dr. Cullen and Tyler.**

** "I'd like to speak with you alone, if you don't mind," I pressed.**

** He glared, and then turned his back and strode down the long room. I nearly had to run to keep up. As soon as we turned the corner into a short hallway, he spun around to face me.**

** "What do you want?" he asked, sounding annoyed. His eyes were cold.**

"Edward! How dare you be rude to Bella!" said Esme heatedly. She raised her sons to be perfect gentlemen.

"I didn't actually do it yet, Mom." said Edward sheepishly.

"It's the principle of the thing. I raised you better than that."

"I'm sorry," he said. Emmett and Jasper were quietly laughing at him.

** His unfriendliness intimidated me. My words came out with less severity than I intended. "You owe me an explanation," I reminded him.**

** "I saved your life- I don't owe you anything."**

** I flinched back from the resentment in his voice. "You promised."**

** "Bella, you hit your head, you don't know what your talking about." His tone was cutting.**

** My temper flared now, and I glared defiantly at him. "There's nothing wrong with my head."**

** He glared back. "What do you want from me, Bella?"**

** "I want to know the truth," I said. "I want to know why I'm lying for you."**

** "What do you think happened?" he snapped.**

"Edward if I ever hear you speak to a lady like that ever you will be in big trouble." said Esme menacingly. "I will destroy your Vanquish." she added.

Edward just gulped.

** It came out in a rush.**

** "All I know is that you weren't anywhere near me- Tyler didn't see you either, so don't tell me I hit my head too hard. The van was going to crush us both- and it didn't, and your hands left dents in the side of it- and you left a dent in the other car, and your not hurt at all- and the van should have smashed my legs, but you were holding it up…." I could hear how crazy it sounded, and I couldn't continue. I was so mad I could feel the tears coming; I tried to force them back by grinding my teeth together.**

"Holy crap, she misses nothing!" said Em incredulously.

** He was staring at me incredulously. But his face was tense, defensive.**

** "You think I lifted a van off you?" His tone questioned my sanity, but it only made me more suspicious. It was like a perfectly delivered line by a skilled actor.**

** I merely nodded once, jaw tight.**

** "Nobody will believe that you know." His voice held an edge of derision now.**

"You might as well have told her the truth with as well you are lying. Come on Edward, I know you can lie better than that." said Rosalie with discontent.

** "I'm not going to tell anybody." I said each word slowly, carefully controlling my anger.**

** Surprise flitted across his face. "Then why does it matter?"**

** "It matters to me," I insisted. "I don't like to lie- so there'd better be a good reason why I'm doing it."**

** "Cant you just thank me and get over it?"**

** "Thank you." I waited, fuming and expectant.**

** "You're not gonna let it go are you?**

** "No."**

** "In that case… I hope you enjoy disappointment."**

Esme flew from her seat and smacked the back of Edward's head so fast he didn't see it coming in time to duck. Jasper and Emmett cracked up laughing until they got it too from their wives.

** We scowled at each other in silence. I was the first to speak, trying to keep myself focused. I was in danger of being distracted by his livid, glorious face. It was like trying to stare down a destroying angel.**

** "Why did you even bother?" I asked frigidly.**

** He paused, and for a brief moment his stunning face was unexpectedly vulnerable.**

** "I don't know," he whispered.**

** And then he turned his back on me and walked away.**

** I was so angry, it took me a few minutes until I could move. When I could walk, I made my way slowly to the exit at the end of the hallway.**

"So the Edward in the book is really slow." said Alice. "I mean he hasn't even recognized his mate yet."

"Or maybe he is afraid to believe it, because she is human and his singer." said Carlisle gently. "He could be afraid of the reaction of the family. I mean before these books most of us would have been totally against it." He looked pointedly at Rosalie and Jasper and Emmett.

** The waiting room was more unpleasant than I'd feared. It seemed like every face I knew in Forks was there, staring at me. Charlie rushed to my side; I put up my hands.**

** "There's nothing wrong with me," I assure him sullenly. I was still aggravated, not in the mood for chitchat.**

** "What did the doctor say?"**

** "Dr. Cullen saw me, and he said I was fine and could go home." I sighed. Mike and Jessica and Eric were all there, beginning to converge on us. "Let's go," I urged.**

** Charlie put one arm behind my back, not quite touching me, and led me to the glass doors of the exit. I waved sheepishly at my friends, hoping to convey that they didn't need to worry anymore. It was a huge relief- the first time I'd ever felt that way- to get into the cruiser.**

"She really hates having attention on her," said Rosalie.

** We drove in silence. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I barely knew Charlie was there. I was positive that Edward's defensive behavior in the hall was a confimation of the bizarre things I could still hardly believe I'd witnessed.**

** When we got to the house, Charlie finally spoke.**

** "Um…you'll need to call Renee." He hung his head, guilty.**

** I was appalled. "You told Mom!"**

"Well of course she is going to want to know." said Esme.

** "Sorry."**

** I slammed the cruiser's door a little harder than necessary on my way out.**

** My mom was in hysterics, of course. I had to tell her I felt fine at least thirty times before she would calm down. She begged me to come home- forgetting the fact that home was empty at the moment- but her pleas were easier to resist than I would have thought. I was consumed by the mystery Edward presented. And more than a little obsessed by Edward himself. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I wasn't as eager to escape Forks as I should be, as any normal sane person would be.**

** I decided I might as well go to bed early that night. Charlie continued to watch me anxiously, and it was getting on my nerves. I stopped on my way to grab three Tylenol from the bathroom. They did help, and, as the pain eased I drifted to sleep.**

** That was the first night I dreamed of Edward Cullen.**

"That was the end of the chapter." said Jasper. "Who wants to read next?"

"I will," said Rosalie.

"First we have to make some arrangements." said Alice. "Carlisle has to make a few phone calls to the school and the hospital. We are going to be here a while. It also might be a good idea to go hunt."

Carlisle made his phone calls and they all left to go hunting.


	5. Chapter 5

SM owns all.

Thank you so much for the awesome reviews!

Now on with the story!

After the Cullens got back from hunting they immediately got down to business. Rosalie picked up the book and started reading

4. Invitations. She read.

**In my dream it was very dark, and what dim light there was seemed to be radiating from Edward's skin.**

"Huh? How could she possibly know that we light up like a disco ball?" asked Emmett.

"Maybe her subconscious already recognizes what Edward is." said Carlisle, intrigued by the human's dream.

** I couldn't see his face, just his back as he walked away from me, leaving me in the blackness. No matter how fast I ran, I couldn't catch up to him; no matter how loud I called, he never turned. Troubled, I woke in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep again for what seemed like a very long time. After that, he was in my dreams nearly every night, but always on the periphery, never within reach.**

** The month that followed the accident was un easy, tense, and, at first, embarrassing.**

** To my dismay, I found myself the center of attention for the rest of that week.**

"What girl wouldn't want attention?" asked Rose as she stopped reading for a second.

"I guess when you are likely to fall on your face or trip, you wouldn't want attention for fear of embarrassment." said Jasper.

"That makes sense a little."

** Tyler Crowley was impossible, following me around, obsessed with making amends to me somehow.**

"Looks like you have more competition Eddie," laughed Emmett. Edward just growled lowly.

** I tried to convince him what I wanted more than anything else was for him to forget all about it- especially since nothing actually happened to me- but he remained insistent. He followed me between classes and sat at our now-crowded lunch table. Mike and Eric were even less friendly toward him than they were to each other, which made me worry that I'd gained another unwelcome fan.**

** No one seemed concerned about Edward, though I explained over and over that he was the hero- how he had pulled me out of the way and nearly been crushed, too. I tried to be convincing. Jessica, Mike, Eric, and everyone else always commented that they hadn't even seen him there till the van was pulled away.**

"She kept the secret." said Rosalie astonished.

"Well, who would believe her anyway? You start talking about people lifting full sized vans and they would question your mental state." said Jasper. He could always see the obvious.

** I wondered to myself why no one else had seen him standing so far away, before he was suddenly, impossibly saving my life. With chagrin, I realized the probable cause- no one else was aware of Edward as I always was. No one else watched him the way I did. How pitiful.**

"Its not pitiful to watch one's mate." said Edward, "well I guess it would be if you didn't know he or she was your mate. I wonder if I am in the book, watching Bella just as closely?"

** Edward was never surrounded by crowds of curious bystanders eager for his first hand account. People avoided him as usual. The Cullens and the Hales sat at the same table as always, not eating, talking only among themselves. None of them, especially Edward, glanced my way anymore.**

** When he sat next to me in class, as far from me as the table would allow, he seemed totally unaware of my presence. Only now and then, when his fists would suddenly ball up- skin stretched even whiter over the bones- did I wonder if he wasn't quite as oblivious as he appeared.**

** He wished he hadn't pulled me from the path of Tyler's van- there was no other conclusion I could come too.**

"How could she think that?" said Esme and Edward at the same time. Only Esme said it with sadness; Edward said it with outrage.

** I wanted very much to talk to him, and the day after the accident I tried. The last time I'd seen him, outside the ER, we'd both been so furious. I still was angry that he wouldn't trust me with the truth, even though I was keeping my part of the bargain flawlessly. But he had in fact saved my life, no matter how he'd done it. And, overnight, the heat of my anger faded into awed gratitude.**

** He was already seated when I got to Biology, looking straight ahead. I sat down, expecting him to turn toward me. He showed no sign that he realized I was there.**

** "Hello, Edward," I said pleasantly, to show him I was going to behave myself.**

** He turned his head a fraction toward me without meeting my gaze, nodded once, and then looked the other way.**

** And that was the last contact I'd had with him, though he was there, a foot away from me, every day. I watched him sometimes, unable to stop myself- from a distance, though, in the cafeteria or parking lot. I watched as his golden eyes grew perceptibly darker day by day. But in class I gave no more notice that he existed than he showed toward me. I was miserable. And the dreams continued.**

"That is your plan? To ignore her?" asked Rosalie with disbelief in her voice. "Some mate you are."

"I havent actually done any of this yet." Edward said back. "I promise to be a better mate."

"You were probably still in disbelief that a human could be your mate." said Carlisle, trying to ease the tension.

** Despite my outright lies, the tenor of my emails alerted Renee to my depression, and she called a few times, worried. I tried to convince her it was just the weather that had me down.**

** Mike, at least, was pleased by the obvious coolness between me and my lab partner. I could see he'd been worried that Edward's daring rescue might have impressed me, and he was relieved that it seemed to have the opposite effect. He grew more confident, sitting on the edge of my table to talk before Biology class started, ignoring Edward as completely as he ignored us.**

** The snow washed away for good after that one dangerously icy day. Mike was disappointed he'd never gotten to stage his snowball fight, but pleased that the beach trip would soon be possible. The rain continued heavily, though, and the weeks passed.**

** Jessica made me aware of another event looming on the horizon- she called the first Tuesday of March to ask my permission to invite Mike to the girls' choice spring dance in two weeks.**

** "Are you sure you don't mind… you weren't planning to ask him?" she persisted when I told her I didn't mind in the least.**

"Cant you see she is to busy being obsessed with Edward to care about Mike?" Emmett asked the book like he expected an answer. Everyone chuckled when he looked at book.

** "No, Jess, I'm not going," I assured her. Dancing was glaringly outside my range of abilities**

Everyone laughed again.

** "It will be really fun." Her attempt to convince me was halfhearted. I suspected that Jessica enjoyed my inexplicable popularity more than my actual company.**

** "You have fun with Mike," I encouraged.**

** The next day, I was surprised that Jessica wasn't her usual gushing self in Trig and Spanish. She was silent as she walked by my side between classes, and I was afraid to ask her why. If Mike had turned her down, I was the last person she would want to tell.**

** My fears were strengthened during lunch when Jessica sat as far from Mike as possible, chatting animatedly with Eric. Mike was unusually quiet.**

** Mike was still quiet as he walked me to class, the uncomfortable look on his face a bad sign. But he didn't broach the subject until I was in my seat and he was perched on my desk. As always, I was electrically aware of Edward sitting close enough to touch, as distant as if he were merely an invention of my imagination.**

"I wonder if the electricity Bella feels is the mating bond trying to establish its self." asked Carlisle. He had a similar experience when he first met Esme as a sixteen year old girl.

** "So," Mike said looking at the floor, "Jessica asked me to the spring dance."**

** "That's great." I made my voice bright and enthusiastic. "You'll have a lot of fun with Jessica."**

** "Well…" He floundered as he examined my smile, clearly not happy with my response. "I told her I had to think about it."**

** "Why would you do that?" I let disapproval color my tone, though I was relieved he hadn't given her an absolute no.**

** His face was bright red as he looked down again. Pity shook my resolve.**

** "I was wondering if… well, if you might be planning to ask me."**

** I paused for a moment, hating the wave of guilt that swept through me. But I saw, from the corner of my eye, Edward's head tilt reflexively in my direction.**

"Uh oh, something got Edward's attention. Maybe he finally will talk to her instead of ignoring her." said Rosalie, snickering.

** "Mike, I think you should tell her yes," I said.**

** "Did you already ask someone?" Did Edward notice how Mike's eyes flickered in his direction?**

"Yes, I probably did notice, with out a doubt." said Edward rolling his eyes.

** "No," I assured him. "I'm not going to the dance at all."**

** "Why not?" Mike demanded.**

** I didn't want to get into the safety hazards that dancing presented, so I quickly made new plans.**

** "I'm going to Seattle that Saturday," I explained. I needed to get out of town anyway- it was suddenly the perfect time to go.**

** "Cant you go some other weekend?"**

** "Sorry, no," I said. "So you shouldn't make Jess wait any longer- its rude."**

** "Yeah, you're right," he mumbled, and turned, dejected, to walk back to his seat. I closed my eyes and pressed my fingers to my temples, trying to push the guilt and sympathy out of my head. Mr. Banner began talking. I sighed and opened my eyes.**

** And Edward was staring at me curiously, that same, familiar edge of frustration even now in his black eyes.**

** I stared back, surprised, expecting him to look quickly away. But instead he continued to gaze with probing intensity into my eyes. There was no question of me looking away. My hands started to shake.**

"I really think that Edward cant hear Bella's mind." said Jasper. "I wonder if she really is a shield…." he continued to think to himself and, by default, Edward.

** "Mr. Cullen?" the teacher called, seeking the answer to a question I hadn't heard.**

** "The Krebs Cycle," Edward answered, seeming reluctant as he turned to look at Mr. Banner.**

** I looked down at my book as soon as his eyes released me, trying to find my place. Cowardly as ever, I shifted my hair over my right shoulder to hide my face. I couldn't believe the rush of emotion pulsing through me- just because he happened to look at me for the first time in a half dozen weeks. I couldn't allow him to have this level of influence over me. It was pathetic. More than pathetic, it was unhealthy.**

** I tried very hard not to be aware of him for the rest of the hour, and, since that was impossible, at least not to let him know that I was aware of him. When the bell rang at last, I turned my back to him to gather my things, expecting him to leave immediately as usual.**

** "Bella,?" His voice shouldn't have been so familiar to me, as if I'd known the sound of it all my life rather than for just a few short weeks.**

** I turned slowly, unwillingly. I didn't want to feel what I knew I would feel when I looked at his too perfect face. My expression was wary when I finally turned to him; his expression was unreadable. He didn't say anything.**

"You got to admit, she has a right to be wary what with the way you have been treating her." said Rosalie. "Only you would ignore your mate for a month and a half."

** "What? Are you speaking to me again?" I finally asked, an unintentional note of petulance in my voice.**

** His lips twitched, fighting a smile. "No, not really," he admitted.**

"Edward, I never thought I would say this, but you are an ass." said Alice. "Why are you trying to upset her?"

"Maybe I think she is beautiful when she is mad?" he asked slowly still wondering himself.

** I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly through my nose, aware that I was gritting my teeth. He waited.**

** "Then what do you want, Edward?" I asked, keeping my eyes closed; it was easier to talk to him coherently that way.**

** "I'm sorry." He sounded sincere. "I'm being very rude, I know. But its better this way, really."**

** I opened my eyes. His face was very serious.**

** "I don't know what you mean," I said my voice guarded.**

** "Its better if were not friends," he explained. "Trust me."**

"Bad word choice." said Jasper.

** My eyes narrowed. I'd heard that before.**

** "Its too bad you didn't figure that out earlier," I hissed through my teeth. "You could have saved your self all this regret.**

"Regret? For what?" Edward asked.

** "Regret?" The word, and my tone, obviously caught him off guard. "Regret for what?"**

** "For not just letting that stupid van squish me."**

"How could she possibly think that?" he asked getting to his feet.

"Maybe because you ignored her for weeks on end, even when she tried to talk to you." said Esme, shocking everyone.

** He was astonished. He stared at me in disbelief.**

** When he finally spoke, he almost sounded mad. "You think I regret saving your life?"**

** "I know you do," I snapped.**

** "You don't know anything." He was definitely mad.**

Once again Esme moved so fast she was a blur and Edward didn't realize he was hit on the back of the head until she was back in her seat.

"Ow," he said stupidly.

Esme refused to even look his way.

** I turned my head sharply away from him, clenching my jaw against all the wild accusations I wanted to hurl at him. I gathered my books together, then stood and walked to the door. I meant to sweep dramatically out of the room, but of course I caught the toe of my boot on the doorjamb and dropped my books.**

To this Emmett laughed. Everyone looked at him. "What it was funny." he said in defense.

** I stood there for a moment, thinking about leaving them. Then I sighed and bent to pick them up. He was there; he'd already stacked them into a pile. He handed them to me, his face hard.**

** "Thank you," I said icily.**

** His eyes narrowed.  
>"You're welcome," he retorted.<strong>

** I straightened up swiftly, turned away from him again, and stalked off to Gym without looking back.**

** Gym was brutal. We'd moved on to basketball. My team never passed me the ball, so that was good, but I fell down a lot. Sometimes I took people with me. Today I was worse than usual because my head was so filled with Edward. I tried to concentrate on my feet, but he kept creeping back into my thoughts just when I really needed my balance.**

** It was a relief as always, to leave. I almost ran to the truck; there were just so many people I wanted to avoid. The truck had suffered only minimal damage in the accident. I'd had to replace the taillights, and if I'd had a real paint job, I would have touched that up. Tyler's parents had to sell their van for parts.**

** I almost had a stroke when I rounded the corner and saw a tall dark figure leaning against the side of my truck. Then I realized that it was just Eric. I started walking again.**

"I bet he asks her to the dance." said Jasper with a smirk. Edward just pouts a little.

** "Hey Eric," I called.**

** "Hi, Bella."**

** "What's up?" I said as I was unlocking the door.**

"She actually looks the doors on that monster?" asked Rose with humor.

** I wasn't paying attention to the uncomfortable edge in his voice, so his next words took me by surprise.**

** "Uh, I was just wondering… if you would go to the spring dance with me?" His voice broke on the last word.**

"Ha, I knew it," said Jasper.

** "I thought it was girls choice," I said too startled to be diplomatic.**

** "Well, yeah," he admitted, shamefaced.**

** I recovered my composure and tried to make my smile warm. "Thank you for asking me, but I am going to be in Seattle that day."**

** "Oh," he said. "Well, maybe next time."**

** "Sure," I agreed, and then bit my lip. I wouldn't want him to take that too literally.**

** He slouched off, back toward the school. I heard a low chuckle.**

** Edward was walking past the front of my truck, looking straight forward, his lips pressed together. I yanked the door open and jumped inside, slamming it loudly behind me. I revved the engine deafeningly and reversed out into the aisle. Edward was in his car already, two spaces down, sliding out smoothly in front of me, cutting me off. He stopped there- to wait for his family; I could see the four of them walking this way but still by the cafeteria. I considered taking out the rear of his shiny Volvo-**

"No!" said Edward interrupting the story. Bella was gonna hurt his baby. Everyone laughed except Rose, who knew the feeling.

** -but there were too many witnesses. I looked in my rearview mirror. A line was beginning to form. Directly behind me, Tyler Crowley was in his recently acquired used Sentra, waving. I was too aggravated to acknowledge him.**

** While I was sitting there, looking everywhere but at the car in front of me, I heard a knock on my passenger side window. I looked over; it was Tyler. I glanced back in my rearview mirror, confused. His car was still running, the door left open. I leaned across the cab to crank the window down. It was stiff. I got it half way down then gave up.**

** "I'm sorry Tyler, I'm stuck behind Cullen." I was annoyed- obviously the hold up wasn't my fault.**

"Oh man, your no longer Edward, your Cullen now." laughed Emmett. "Why are you trying to piss off your mate? Its never a good idea."

"I have no idea why I am acting like this," Edward said clearly frustrated.

** "Oh, I know- I just wanted to ask you something while were trapped here." He grinned.**

** This could not be happening.**

** "Will you ask me to the spring dance?" he continued.**

** "I'm not going to be in town, Tyler." My voice sounded a little sharp. I had to remember it wasn't his fault that Mike and Eric had already used up my quota of patience for the day.**

** "Yeah, Mike said that," he admitted.**

** "Then why-"**

** He shrugged. "I was hoping you were just letting him down easy."**

** Okay, it was completely his fault.**

** "Sorry, Tyler," I said, working to hide my irritation. "I really am going out of town."**

** "That's cool. We still have prom."**

"Hopefully Edward will have his head out of his ass by then." said Esme shocking everyone with the cursing.

** And before I could respond, he was walking back to his car. I could feel the shock on my face. I looked forward to see Alice, Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper all sliding into the Volvo. In his rearview mirror Edward's eyes were on me. He was unquestionably shaking with laughter, as if he'd heard every word Tyler had said. My foot inched toward the gas pedal…one little bump wouldn't hurt any of them, just that glossy sliver paint job. I revved the engine.**

** But they were all in, and Edward was speeding away.I drove home slowly, carefully, muttering to myself the whole way.**

** When I got home, I decided to make chicken enchiladas for dinner. It was a long process, and it would keep me busy. While I was simmering the onions and chilies the phone rang. I was almost afraid to answer it, but it might be Charlie or my mom.**

** It was Jessica, and she was jubilant; Mike had caught her after school to accept her invitation. I celebrated with her briefly while I stirred. She had to go, she wanted to call Angela and Lauren to tell them. I suggested-with casual innocence- that maybe Angela, the shy girl who had Biology with me, could ask Eric. And Lauren, a standoffish girl who always ignored me at the lunch table, could ask Tyler; I'd heard he was still available. Jess thought that was a great idea. Now that she was sure of Mike, she actually sounded sincere when she said she wished I would go to the dance. I gave her my Seattle excuse.**

"For someone who hates lying she sure omit's the truth a lot. Instead of just coming right out and saying it." said Rosalie.

"Well I think she is either to shy or too goodhearted to hurt someone's feelings." said Esme. She was back to being her sweet motherly self.

** After I hung up, I tried to concentrate on dinner- dicing the chicken especially; I didn't want to take another trip to the emergency room. But my head was spinning, trying to analyze every word Edward had spoken today. What did he mean it was better if we weren't friends?**

** My stomach twisted as I realized what he must have meant. He must see how absorbed I was by him; he must not want to lead me on…so we couldn't even be friends…because he wasn't interested in me at all.**

** Of course he wasn't interested in me, I thought angrily, my eyes stinging- a delayed reaction to the onions. I wasn't **_**interesting**_**. And he was. Interesting… and brilliant…and mysterious…and perfect…and beautiful…and possibly able to lift full sized vans with one hand.**

"Boy, does she have on some serious rose colored glasses." said Jasper laughing. All the others except Edward all laughed with him. Edward just pouted. He knew he wasn't perfect.

** Well, that was fine. I could leave him alone. I **_**would**_** leave him alone. I would get through my self imposed sentence here in purgatory, and then hopefully some school in the Southwest, or possibly Hawaii, would offer me a scholarship. I focused my thoughts on sunny beaches and palm trees as I finished the enchiladas and put them in the oven.**

** Charlie seemed suspicious when he came home and smelled the green peppers. I couldn't blame him- the closest edible Mexican food was probably in southern California. But he was a cop, even if just a small town cop, so he was brave enough to take the first bite. He seemed to like it. It was fun to watch as he slowly began trusting me in the kitchen.**

"Bella and Charlie's relationship is so cute." squealed Alice, who had been mostly quiet throughout the chapter.

** "Dad?" I asked when he was almost done. **

** "Yeah, Bella?"**

** "Um, I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to Seattle for the day a week from Saturday…if that's okay?" I didn't want to ask permission- it set a bad precedent- but I felt rude, so I tacked it on at the end.**

** "Why?" He sounded surprised, as if he were unable to imagine something that Forks couldn't offer.**

** "Well, I wanted to get a few books- the library here is pretty limited- and maybe look at some clothes." I had more money than I was used to having, since, thanks to Charlie, I hadn't had to pay for a car. Not that the truck didn't cost me quite a bit in the gas department.**

** "That truck probably doesn't get very good gas mileage," he said, echoing my thoughts.**

** "I know, I'll stop in Montesano and Olympia- and Tacoma if I have to."**

** "Are you going all by yourself?" he asked, and I couldn't tell if he was suspicious I had a secret boyfriend or just worried about car trouble.**

** "Yes."**

** "Seattle is a big city- you could get lost," he fretted.**

** "Dad, Phoenix is five times the size of Seattle- and I can read a map, don't worry about it."**

** "Do you want me to come with you?"**

** I tried to be crafty as I hid my horror.**

** "That's all right, Dad, I'll probably just be in dressing rooms all day- very boring."**

** "Oh, okay." The thought of sitting in women's clothing stores for any period of time immediately put him off.**

At this, all the women laugh. "I really wanna go shopping with her." said Alice, excitedly.

"We havent even met her yet, Alice. But I wanna go too." said Rosalie. Esme nodded in agreement. "Maybe we can make it a girls weekend."

All the guys looked at each other smiling, happy that the girls seem to like Bella. Maybe even love her already.

** "Thanks." I smiled at him.**

** "Will you be back in time for the dance?"**

** Grrr. Only in a town this small would a **_**father**_** know when the high school dances were.**

** "No- I don't dance, Dad." He, of all people, should understand that- I didn't get my balance problems from my mother.**

** He did understand. "Oh, that's right," he realized.**

** The next morning, when I pulled into the parking lot, I deliberately parked as far as possible from the silver Volvo. I didn't want to put myself in the path of too much temptation and end up owing him a new car. Getting out of the cab, I fumbled with my key and it fell into a puddle at my feet. As I bent to get it, a white hand flashed out and grabbed it before I could. I jerked upright. Edward Cullen was right next to me, leaning casually against my truck.**

** "How do you **_**do**_** that?" I asked in amazed irritation.**

** "Do what?" He held my key out as he spoke. As I reached for it, he dropped it into my palm.**

** "Appear out of thin air."**

** "Bella, it's not my fault you are exceptionally unobservant." His voice was quiet as usual- velvet, muted.**

** I scowled at his perfect face. His eyes were light again today, a deep, golden honey color. Then I had to look down, to reassemble my now-tangled thoughts.**

** "Why the traffic jam last night?" I demanded, still looking away. "I thought you were supposed to be pretending I don't exist, not irritating me to death."**

** "That was for Tyler's sake, not mine. I had to give him his chance." He snickered.**

** "You…" I gasped. I couldn't think of a bad enough word. It felt like the heat of my anger should physically burn him, but he only seemed more amused.**

** "And I'm not pretending you don't exist," he continued.**

** "So you are trying to irritate me to death? Since Tyler's van didn't do the job?"**

** Anger flashed in his tawny eyes. His lips pressed into a hard line, all signs of humor gone.**

** "Bella, you are utterly absurd," he said, his low voice cold.**

** My palms tingled- I wanted so badly to hit something. I was surprised at my self. I was usually a nonviolent person. I turned my back and started to walk away.**

Suddenly a smack was heard in the room. Edward rubbed his head where he was hit. Alice was already sitting by the time Edward looked at her. "On behalf of Bella, you deserved that." she said.

** "Wait," he called. I kept walking, sloshing angrily through the rain. But he was next to me, easily keeping pace.**

** "I'm sorry, that was rude," he said as we walked. I ignored him. "I'm not saying it isn't true," he continued, "but it was rude to say it, anyway."**

** "Why wont you leave me alone?" I grumbled.**

** "I wanted to ask you something, but you sidetracked me," he chuckled. He seemed to have recovered his good humor.**

** "Do you have a multiple personality disorder?" I asked severely.**

"That is an interesting thought." mused Carlisle. "I wonder if mental disorders carry over during the change."

** "Your doing it again."**

** I sighed. "Fine then, what did you want to ask?"**

** "I was wondering if, a week from Saturday- you know the day of the spring dance-"**

** "Are you trying to be **_**funny**_**?" I interrupted him, wheeling toward him. My face got drenched as I looked up at his expression.**

** His eyes were wickedly amused. "Will you please allow me to finish?"**

** I bit my lip and clasped my hands together, interlocking my fingers, so I couldn't do anything rash.**

** "I heard you were going to Seattle that day, and I was wondering if you wanted a ride."**

** That was unexpected. **

** "What?" I wasn't sure what he was getting at.**

** "Do you want a ride to Seattle?''**

** "With who?" I asked, mystified.**

** "Myself, obviously." He enunciated every syllable, as if he were talking to someone mentally handicapped.**

** I was stunned. "Why?"**

** "Well, I was planning to go to Seattle in the next few weeks, and, to be honest, I'm not sure if your truck can make it."**

** "My truck works just fine, thank you very much for your concern." I started to walk again, but I was too surprised to maintain the same level of anger.**

** "But can your truck make it there on one tank of gas?" He matched my pace again.**

** "I don't see how that is any of your business." Stupid, shiny Volvo owner.**

To that everyone laughs. Edward was still mystified by his behavior in the book so his laugh was a little hollow.

** "The wasting of finite resources is everyone's business."**

** "Honestly, Edward." I felt a thrill go through me as I said his name, and I hated it. "I cant keep up with you. I thought you didn't want to be my friend."**

** "I said it would be better if we weren't friends, not that I didn't want to be."**

** "Oh, thanks, now that is **_**all**_** cleared up." Heavy sarcasm. I realized I had stopped walking again. We were under the shelter of the cafeteria roof now, so I could more easily look at his face. Which certainly didn't help the clarity of thought.**

** "It would be more…prudent for you to not be my friend," he explained. "But I'm tired of trying to stay away from you, Bella."**

** His eyes were gloriously intense as he uttered that last sentence, his voice smoldering. I couldn't remember how to breathe.**

** "Will you go with me to Seattle?" he asked, still intense.**

** I couldn't speak yet, so I just nodded.**

** He smiled briefly, and then his face became serious.**

** "You really should stay away from me," he warned. "I'll see you in class."**

** He turned abruptly and walked back the way we'd come.**

"That was the end of the chapter." said Rosalie. "And can I just say, mixed signals much, Edward?

"No wonder the poor girl is so angry and confused." said Esme in agreement with Rose. Edward just looks confused as he reaches for the book, wanting to read next.

Rose handed over the book.


	6. Chapter 6

SM owns all.

Sorry for the long wait between chapters. RL is kicking my butt. But I will try to get a new chapter out every 10 to 14 days.

I want to thank everyone who reviewed and favorited and follows this story. It means the world to me. Also I switched this story to rated M just to be on the safe side. Now on with the next chapter!

"5. Blood Type" Edward read.

"God, I hope I am not exposed to her blood." Edward said before beginning.

** I made my way to English in a daze. I didn't even realize when I first walked in that class had already started.**

** "Thank you for joining us, Miss Swan," Mr. Mason said in a disparaging tone.**

** I flushed and hurried to my seat.**

** It wasn't till class ended that I realized Mike wasn't sitting in his usual seat next to me. I felt a twinge of guilt. But he and Eric both met me at the door as usual, so I figured I wasn't totally unforgiving. Mike seemed to become more like himself as we walked, gaining enthusiasm as he talked about the weather report for this weekend. The rain was supposed to take a minor break, and so maybe his beach trip would be possible. I tried to sound eager, to make up for disappointing him yesterday. It was hard; rain or no rain, it would still only be in the high forties, if we were lucky.**

** The rest of the morning passed in a blur. It was difficult to believe that I hadn't just imagined what Edward had said, and the way his eyes had looked. Maybe it was just a very convincing dream that I'd confused with reality. That seemed more probable than that I really appealed to him on any level.**

"Aw, Edward you made her doubt herself. She already has a low self-esteem." said Alice, with a little sadness in her voice. She really liked Bella and hoped one day they would be sisters.

Edward just hung his head. He would show Bella everyday if he had to, that she was beautiful inside and out.

** So I was impatient and frightened as Jessica and I entered the cafeteria. I wanted to see his face, to see if he'd gone back to the cold, indifferent person I'd known for the last several weeks. Or if, by some miracle, I'd really heard what I thought I'd heard this morning. Jessica babbled on and on about her dance plans- Lauren and Angela had asked the other boys and they were all going together- completely unaware of my inattention.**

** Disappointment flooded through me as my eyes unerringly focused on his table. The other four were there, but he was absent. Had he gone home? I followed the still babbling Jessica through the line, crushed. I'd lost my appetite- I bought nothing but a bottle of lemonade. I just wanted to go sit down and sulk.**

** "Edward Cullen is staring at you again," Jessica said, finally breaking through my abstraction with his name. "I wonder why he's sitting alone today."**

"What? Where are you? Why are you sitting alone?" asked Alice.

"I think maybe some of the family members don't agree with my choice of mate." said Edward.

"Maybe her scent is too strong for all of us." said Jasper with a frown.

** My head snapped up. I followed her gaze to see Edward, smiling crookedly, staring at me from an empty table across the cafeteria from where he usually sat. Once he'd caught my eye, he raised one hand and motioned with his index finger for me to join him. As I stared in disbelief, he winked.**

** "Does he mean you?" Jessica asked with insulting astonishment in her voice.**

** "Maybe he needs help with his Biology homework," I muttered for her benefit. "Um, I'd better go see what he wants."**

** I could feel her staring after me as I walked away.**

** When I reached his table, I stood behind the chair across from him, unsure. **

** "Why don't you sit with me today?" he asked smiling.**

** I sat down automatically, watching him with caution. He was still smiling. It was hard to believe that someone so beautiful could be real. I was afraid that he might disappear in a sudden puff of smoke, and I would wake up.**

"I think her subconscious already knows something is up." said Carlisle. "She just doesn't know what that is yet.

** He seemed to be waiting for me to say something.**

** "This is different," I finally managed.**

** "Well…" He paused, and the rest of the words followed in a rush. "I decided as long as I was going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly."**

"Edward! Why would you think that?" asked Esme.

"Because before I seen Bella's picture I didn't think I had a soul. But now I feel differently. I feel like I might just have a soul after all." He smiled.

Carlisle beamed. He always knew Edward had a soul. That all his children had souls. But to hear one of them confirm their feelings was just awesome.

"Of course you have a soul. You cant love if you have no soul." said Esme.

** I waited for him to say something that made sense. The seconds ticked by.**

** "You know I don't have any idea what you mean," I eventually pointed out. **

** "I know." He smiled again, then he changed the subject. "I think your friends are angry with me for stealing you.**

** "They'll survive." I could feel their stares boring into my back .**

** "I may not give you back, though," he said with a wicked glint in his eyes.**

** I gulped.**

** He laughed. "You look worried."**

** "No," I said, but, ridiculously, my voice broke. "Surprised, actually…what brought all this on?"**

** "I told you- I got tired of trying to stay away from you. So I'm giving up." He was still smiling, but his ocher eyes were serious.**

** "Giving up?" I repeated in confusion.**

** "Yes-giving up trying to be good. I'm just going to do what I want now, and let the chips fall where they may." His smile faded as he explained, and a hard edge crept into his voice.**

** "You lost me again."**

** The breathtaking crooked smile reappeared.**

"Something tells me we are going to be hearing about Edward's beautiful face and crooked smile a lot." Laughed Emmett.

"What, are you jealous of my face Em?" said Edward, even though he would be blushing if he could.

Emmett refused to answer.

** "I always say too much when I'm talking to you- that's one of the problems."**

** "Don't worry- I don't understand any of it," I said wryly.**

** "I'm counting on that."**

** "So, in plain English, are we friends now?"**

** "Friends…," he mused, dubious.**

** "Or not," I muttered.**

** He grinned. "Well, we can try, I supposed. But I'm warning you now that I'm not a good friend for you." Behind his smile, the warning was real.**

** "You say that a lot," I noted, trying to ignore the sudden trembling in my stomach and keep my voice even.**

** "Yes, because your not listening to me. I'm still waiting for you to believe it. If your smart, you'll avoid me."**

** "I think you've made your opinion on the subject of my intellect clear, too." My eyes narrowed.**

** He smiled apologetically.**

** "So, as long as I'm being…not smart, we'll try to be friends?" I struggled to sum up the confusing exchange.**

** "That sounds about right."**

** I looked down at my hands wrapped around the lemonade bottle, not sure what to do now.**

** "What are you thinking?" he asked curiously.**

"Not something you hear Ed say. Like ever." said Jasper. The others just nodded.

"I guess I really cant hear her. That would just be my luck; having a mate who is silent to me." said Edward with good humor.

** I looked up into his deep gold eyes, became befuddled, and, as usual, blurted out the truth.**

** "I'm trying to figure out what you are."**

She is smart to realize something is different, and possibly not human about you, Edward." said Carlisle.

** His jaw tightened, but he kept his smile in place with some effort.**

** "Are you having any luck with that?" he asked in an offhand tone.**

** "Not too much," I admitted.**

** He chuckled. "What are your theories?"**

** I blushed. I had been vacillating during the last month between Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker. There was no way I was going to own up to that.**

To this everyone laughed. "Wow she is way off base." said Rosalie, still snickering.

"Yeah were not always the hero." said Edward, which brought everyone back down to normal.

"But you are her personal hero, so its not so much a stretch for her to think of comic book super-heros.

** "Wont you tell me?" he asked, tilting his head to one side with a shockingly tempting smile.**

** I shook my head. "Too embarrassing."**

** "That's **_**really**_** frustrating you know," he complained.**

** "No," I disagreed quickly, my eyes narrowing, "I cant imagine why that would be frustrating at all- just because someone refuses to tell you what they are thinking, even if all the while they are making cryptic little remarks specifically designed to keep you up at night wondering what they could possibly mean…now why would that be frustrating?"**

"She's got you there, Ed," said Alice grinning at his pout.

** He grimaced.**

** "Or better," I continued, the pent-up annoyance flowing freely now, "say that person also did a wide range of bizarre things- from saving your life under impossible circumstances one day to treating you like a pariah the next, and he never explained any of that, either, event after he promised. That, also, would be **_**very**_** non-frustrating.**

"Wow she really has a temper." said Jasper.

** "You got a bit of a temper, don't you?"**

** "I don't like double standards."**

** We stared at each other, unsmiling.**

** He glanced over my shoulder, and then, unexpectedly he snickered.**

** "What?"**

** "Your boyfriend seems to think I'm being unpleasant to you- he's debating whether or not to come break up our fight." He snickered again.**

** "I don't know who you're talking about," I said frostily. "But I'm sure you're wrong, anyway."**

** "I'm not. I told you, most people are easy to read."**

** "Except me, of course."**

** "Yes. Except for you." His mood shifted suddenly; his eyes turned brooding. "I wonder why that is."**

** I had to look away from the intensity of his stare. I concentrated on unscrewing the lid of my lemonade. I took a swig, staring at the table without seeing it.**

** "Aren't you hungry?" he asked distracted.**

** "No." I didn't feel like mentioning that my stomach was already full- of butterflies. "You?" I looked at the empty table in front of him.**

** "No, I'm not hungry." I didn't understand his expression- it looked like he was enjoying some private joke.**

"Nothing gets past her. You will never be able to get away with anything." Emmett said laughing his booming laugh.

** "Can you do me a favor?" I asked after a second of hesitation.**

** He was suddenly wary. "That depends on what you want."**

** "It's not much," I assured him.**

** He waited, guarded but curious.**

** "I just wondered… if you could warn me before hand the next time you decide to ignore me for my own good. Just so I'm prepared." I looked at the lemonade bottle as I spoke, tracing the circle of the opening with my pinkie finger.**

** "That sounds fair." He was pressing his lips together to keep from laughing when I looked up.**

** "Thanks."**

** "Then can I have one in return?" he demanded.**

** "One."**

** "Tell me **_**one**_** theory."**

** Whoops. "Not that one."**

** "You didn't qualify, you just promised one answer," he reminded me.**

** "And you've broken promises yourself." I reminded him back.**

** "Just one theory- I wont laugh."**

** "Yes you will." I was positive about that.**

** He looked down, then glanced up at me through his long black lashes, his ocher eyes scorching.**

** "Please?" he breathed, leaning toward me.**

** I blinked, my mind going blank. Holy crow, how did he **_**do**_** that?**

** "Er, what?" I asked, dazed.**

** "Please tell me just one little theory." His eyes still smoldered at me.**

** "Um, well, bitten by a radioactive spider?" Was he a hypnotist too? Or was I just a hopeless pushover?**

"Hmm, my guess is hopeless pushover," said Rosalie. Alice nodded.

** "That's not very creative," he scoffed.**

** "I'm sorry, that's all I've got," I said miffed.**

** "Your not even close," he teased**

"She's a little close. Just not spiders. But the bitten part is spot on." said Carlisle.

** "No spiders?"**

** "Nope."**

** "And no radioactivity?"**

** "None."**

** "Dang," I sighed.**

** "Kryptonite doesn't bother me, either," he chuckled.**

** "You're not supposed to laugh, remember?"**

** He struggled to compose his face.**

** "I'll figure it out eventually," I warned him.**

** "I wish you wouldn't try." He was serious again.**

** "Because…?"**

** "What if I'm not the superhero? What if I'm the bad guy?" He smiled playfully, but his eyes were impenetrable.**

** "Oh," I said, as several things he'd hinted fell suddenly into place. "I see."**

** "Do you?" His face was abruptly severe, as if he were afraid that he'd accidentally said too much.**

** "You're dangerous?" I guessed, my pulse quickening as I intuitively realized the truth of my own words. He was dangerous. He'd been trying to tell me that all along.**

** He just looked at me, eyes full of some emotion. I couldn't comprehend.**

** "But not bad," I Whispered, shaking my head. "No, I don't believe that you're bad."**

"I've been trying to tell you that for decades now." said Esme. "Maybe now you will listen to your mate."

"**You're wrong." His voice was almost inaudible. He looked down, stealing my bottle lid and then spinning it on its side between his fingers. I stared at him, wondering why I didn't feel afraid. He meant what he was saying- that was obvious. But I just felt anxious, on edge… and, mote than anything else, fascinated. The same way I always felt when I was near him.**

"She feels that way because on some instinctual level, she recognizes her soul mate." said Jasper. Carlisle nodded. He was going to say it but Jasper beat him too it.

** The silence lasted until I noticed that the cafeteria was almost empty.**

** I jumped to my feet. "We're going to be late."**

** "I'm not going to class today," he said, twirling the lid so fast it was just a blur.**

** "Why not?"**

** "Its healthy to ditch class now and then." He smiled up at me, but his eyes were still troubled.**

** "Well I'm going," I told him. I was far to big a coward to risk getting caught.**

** He turned his attention back to his makeshift top. "I'll see you later, then."**

"I guess its blood typing day in class." said Emmett, stating the somewhat obvious.

** I hesitated, torn, but then the first bell sent me hurrying out the door- with a last glance confirming he hadn't moved a centimeter.**

** As I half ran to class, my head was spinning faster than the bottle cap. So few questions had been answered in comparison to how many new questions had been raised. At least the rain had stopped.**

** I was lucky; Mr. Banner wasn't in the room yet when I arrived. I settled quickly into my seat, aware that both Mike and Angela were staring at me. Mike looked resentful; Angela looked surprised, and slightly awed.**

** Mr. Banner came in the room then, calling the class to order. He was juggling a few small cardboard boxes in his arms. He put them down on Mike's table, telling him to start passing them around the class.**

** "Okay, guys, I want you all to take one piece from each box," he said as he produced a pair of rubber gloves from the pocket of his lab jacket and pulled them on. The sharp sound as the gloves snapped into place against his wrists seemed ominous to me.**

"Ominous? Why would she be scared?" asked Edward interrupting his flow of reading.

"Lets keep reading and find out." said Alice.

** "The first should be an indicator card," he went on, grabbing a white card with four squares marked on it displaying it. "The second is a four pronged applicator-" he held up something that looked like a nearly toothless hair pick "- and the third is a sterile micro-lancet." He held up a small piece of blue plastic and split it open. The barb was invisible from this distance, but my stomach flipped.**

** "I'll be coming around with a dropper of water to prepare your cards, so please don't start until I get to you." He began at Mike's table again, carefully putting one drop of water in each of the four squares. "Then I want you to carefully prick your finger with the lancet…." He grabbed Mike's hand and jabbed the spike into the tip of Mike's middle finger. Oh no. clammy moisture broke out across my forehead.**

"Oh my, she is scared of the sight of blood." said Carlisle looking concerned. "And not even her own blood."

** "Put a small drop of blood on each of the prongs." He demonstrated, squeezing Mike's finger till the blood flowed. I swallowed convulsively, my stomach heaving.**

** "And then apply it to the card," he finished, holding up the dripping red card for us to see. I closed my eyes, trying to hear through the ringing in my ears.**

** "The Red Cross is having a blood drive in Port Angeles next weekend, so I thought you should all know your blood type." He sounded proud of himself. "Those of you who arent eighteen yet will need a parent's permission- I have slips at my desk.**

** He continued though the room with his water drops. I put my cheek against the cool black tabletop and tried to hold on to my consciousness. All around me I could hear squeals, complaints, and giggles as my classmates skewered their fingers. I breathed slowly in and out through my mouth.**

** "Bella, are you all right?" Mr. Banner asked. His voice was close to my head, and it sounded alarmed.**

** "I already know my blood type, Mr. Banner," I said in a weak voice. I was afraid to raise my head.**

** "Are you feeling faint?"**

** "Yes, sir, I muttered, internally kicking myself for not ditching when I had the chance.**

** "Can someone take Bella to the nurse please?" he called. **

"I bet its Mike." said Emmett. Edward just sighed. He was tired of hearing about Mike Newton.

** I didn't have to look up to know that it would be Mike who volunteered.**

** "Can you walk?" Mr. Banner asked.**

** "Yes" I whispered. Just let me get out of here, I thought. I'll crawl.**

"Only Edward would have a mate that is scared of the sight of blood." said Rosalie, chuckling a little.

"I wonder how that would transfer over to vampirism?" asked Carlisle out loud. He was always willing to learn something new.

** Mike seemed eager as he put his arm around my waist and pulled my arm over his shoulder. I leaned against him heavily on the way out of the classroom.**

** Mike towed me slowly across campus. When we were around the edge of the cafeteria, out of sight of building four in case Mr. Banner was watching, I stopped.**

** "Just let me sit for a minute, please?" I begged.**

** He helped me sit on the edge of the walk.**

** "And what ever you do, keep your hand in your pocket," I warned. I was still so dizzy. I slumped over on my side, putting my cheek against the freezing, damp cement of the sidewalk, closing my eyes. That seemed to help a little.**

** "Wow, you're green, Bella," Mike said nervously.**

"Gee, thanks Mike, that is what every girl wants to hear" said Rosalie sarcastically.

** "Bella?" a different voice called from a distance.**

** No! Please let me be imagining that horribly familiar voice.**

** "What's wrong- is she hurt?" His voice was closer now, and he sounded upset. I wasn't imagining it. I squeezed my eyes shut hoping to die. Or, at the very least, not to throw up.**

"Why is she not wanting me near?" asked Edward confused.

"Think about it. She doesn't want the guy she likes to see her sick. It would be embarrassing to her." explained Alice.

** Mike seemed stressed. "I think she fainted. I don't know what happened, she didn't even stick her finger."**

** "Bella." Edward's voice was right beside me, relieved now. "Can you hear me?"**

** "No," I groaned "Go away."**

** He chuckled.**

** "I was taking her to the nurse," Mike explained in a defensive tone, "but she wouldn't o any farther."**

** "I'll take her," Edward said. I could hear the smile still in his voice. "You can go back to class."**

** "No," Mike protested. "I'm supposed to do it."**

** Suddenly the sidewalk disappeared from beneath me. My eyes flew open in shock. Edward had scooped me up in his arms, as easily as if I weighed ten pounds instead of a hundred and ten."**

** "Put me down!" Please, please let me not vomit on him. He was walking before I was finished talking.**

"You really shouldn't rock her to much. She well vomit on you." said Carlisle. He hoped his new daughter will be all right.

"I think I was more concerned with getting her away from Mike Newton." said Edward. He hated the fact that he wasn't the one to help her from the start.

** "Hey!" Mike called, already ten paces behind us.**

** Edward ignored him. "You look awful," he told me grinning.**

"Gee, thanks Edward, just what every girl wants to hear." said Rosalie, repeating herself from earlier.

** "Put me back on the sidewalk," I moaned. The rocking movement of his walk was not helping. He held me away from his body, gingerly, supporting all my weight with just his arms- it didn't seem to bother him.**

** "So you faint at the sight of blood?" he asked. This seemed to entertain him.**

** I didn't answer. I closed my eyes again and fought the nausea with all my strength, clamping my lips together.**

** "And not even your own blood," he continued, enjoying himself.**

** I don't know how he opened the door while carrying me, but it was suddenly warm, so I knew we were inside.**

** "Oh my," I heard a female voice gasp.**

** "She fainted in Biology," Edward explained.**

** I opened my eyes. I was in the office, and Edward was striding past the front counter toward the nurse's door. Ms. Cope, the red-headed front office receptionist, ran ahead of him to hold it open. The grandmotherly nurse looked up from a novel, astonished, as Edward swung me into the room and placed me gently on the crackly paper that covered the brown vinyl mattress on the one cot. Then he moved to stand against the wall as far across the narrow room as possible. His eyes were bright, excited.**

"Why in the world would you be excited?" asked Alice.

"Maybe its because I get to see Bella sooner than I thought I would." Edward answered.

** "She's just a little faint," he reassured the startled nurse. "They're blood typing in Biology."**

** The nurse nodded sagely. "There's always one."**

** He muffled a snicker.**

** "Just lie down for a minute, honey; it'll pass."**

** "I know," I sighed. The nausea was already fading.**

** "Does this happen a lot?" she asked.**

** "Sometimes," I admitted. Edward coughed to hide another laugh.**

** "You can go back to class now," she told him.**

** "I'm supposed to stay with her." He said this with such assured authority that- even though she pursed her lips- the nurse didn't argue it further.**

** "I'll go get you some ice for your forehead, dear," she said to me, and then bustled out of the room.**

** "You were right," I moaned, letting my eyes close.**

** "I usually am- but about what in particular this time?"**

** "Ditching is healthy." I practiced breathing evenly.**

** "You scared me for a minute there," he admitted after a pause. His tone made it sound like he was confessing a humiliating weakness. "I thought Newton was draggin your dead body off to bury it in the woods."**

"Could you be anymore dramatic?" asked Rose, laughing at the last line.

"You know he probably could be." said Emmett, teasingly. Edward just rolled his eyes.

** "Ha ha." I still had my eyes closed, but I was feeling more normal every minute.**

** "Honestly- I've seen corpses with better color. I was concerned that I might have to avenge your murder."**

** "Poor Mike. I'll bet he's mad."**

** "He absolutely loathes me," Edward said cheerfully.**

** "You cant know that," I argues, but then I wondered suddenly if he could.**

** "I saw his face- I could tell."**

** "How did you see me? I thought you were ditching." I was almost fine now, though the queasiness would probably pass faster if I'd eaten something for lunch. On the other hand, maybe it was lucky my stomach was empty.**

** "I was in my car, listening to a CD." Such a normal response- it surprised me.**

** I heard the door and opened my eyes to see the nurse with a cold compress in her hand.**

** "Here you go dear." She laid it across my forehead. "You're looking better," she added.**

** "I think I'm fine," I said, sitting up. Just a little ringing in my ears, no spinning. The mint green walls stayed where they should.**

** I could see she was about to make me lie back down, but the door opened just then, and Ms. Cope stuck her head in.**

** "We've got another one," she warned.**

"I wonder who it is?" asked Emmett.

"I hope he is okay." Esme added.

** I hopped down to free up the cot for the next invalid.**

** I handed the compress back to the nurse. "Here, I don't need this."**

** And then Mike staggered through the door, now supporting a sallow looking Lee Stephens, another boy in our Biology class. Edward and I drew back against the wall to give them room**

** "Oh no," Edward muttered. "Go out to the office, Bella."**

** I looked up at him, bewildered.**

** "Trust me- go."**

** I spun and caught the door before it closed, darting out of the infirmary. I could feel Edward right behind me.**

** "You actually listened to me." He was stunned.**

** "I smelled the blood," I said, wrinkling my nose.**

"Wait she could smell the blood? Humans cant smell blood." Edward said.

"Maybe she can. Maybe this just proves she was meant to be a vampire." Alice answered him.

"Maybe." said Edward.

** Lee wasn't sick from watching other people like me.**

** "People cant smell blood," he contradicted.**

** "Well, I can- that's what makes me sick. It smells like rust…and salt."**

Everyone looked at each other astonished. "That is not what it smells like to a vampire, that's for sure," said Jasper.

"Well, I heard humans describe the taste, and apparently it tastes like that to them, too." said Carlisle.

** He was staring at me with an unfathomable expression.**

** "What?" I asked.**

** "Its nothing."**

** Mike came through the door then, glancing from me to Edward. The look he gave Edward confirmed what Edward had said about loathing. He looked back at me, his eyes glum**

** "You look better," he accused.**

** "Just keep your hand in your pocket," I warned him again.**

** "Its not bleeding any more," he muttered. "Are you going back to class?"**

"She would just end up back at the nurse's office if she did that." said Esme with concern in her voice.

** "Are you kidding? I'd just have to turn around and come back."**

** "Yeah, I guess…. So are you going this weekend? To the beach?" While he spoke, he flashed another glare toward Edward, who was standing against the cluttered counter, motionless as a sculpture, staring off into space.**

"Probably trying to block out his thoughts." said Edward with a frown on his face.

** I tried to sound as friendly as possible. "Sure, I said I was in."**

** "Were meeting at my dad's store, at ten." His eyes flickered to Edward again, wondering if he was giving out too much information. His body language made it clear that it wasn't an open invitation.**

** "I'll be there," I promised.**

** "I'll see you in Gym, then," he said, moving uncertainly toward the door.**

** "See you," I replied. He looked at me once more, his round face slightly pouting, and then he walked slowly through the door, his shoulders slumped. A swell of sympathy washed over me. I pondered seeing his disappointed face again…in Gym.**

** "Gym," I groaned.**

** "I can take care of that." I hadn't noticed Edward moving to my side, but he spoke now in my ear. "Go sit down and look pale," he muttered.**

** That wasn't a challenge; I was always pale, and my recent swoon had left a light sheen of sweat on my face. I sat in one of the creaky folding chairs and rested my head against the wall with my eyes closed. Fainting spells always exhausted me.**

** I heard Edward speaking softly at the counter.**

** "Ms. Cope?"**

** "Yes?" I hadn't heard her return to her desk.**

** "Bella has Gym next hour, and I don't think she feels well enough. Actually, I was thinking I should take her home now. Do you think you could excuse her from class?" His voice was like melting honey. I could imagine how much more overwhelming his eyes would be.**

** "Do you need an excuse, too, Edward?" Ms. Cope fluttered. Why couldn't I do that?**

** "No I have Mrs. Goff, she wont mind."**

"Yeah, because you speak better Spanish than she does," chuckled Jasper.

** "Okay, its all taken care of. You feel better, Bella," she called to me. I nodded weakly, hamming it up just a bit.**

** "Can you walk, or do you want me to carry you again?" With his back to the receptionist, his expression became sarcastic.**

** "I'll walk."**

** I stood carefully, and I was still fine. He held the door for me, his smile polite but his eyes mocking. I walked out into the cold, fine mist that had just begun to fall. it felt nice- the first time I enjoyed the constant moisture falling out of the sky- as it washed my face clean of the sticky perspiration.**

** "Thanks," I said as he followed me out. "Its almost worth getting sick to miss Gym."**

** "Anytime." He was staring straight forward, squinting into the rain.**

** "So are you going? This Saturday, I mean?" I was hoping he would, though it seemed unlikely.**

"Yup, very unlikely that you'll be going," said Emmett. "You know, because its in La Push with the wolves."

"There are no wolves in La Push anymore Em." said Rosalie.

** I couldn't picture him loading up to car pool with the rest of the kids from school; he didn't belong in the same world. But just hoping that he might gave me the first twinge of enthusiasm I'd felt for the outing.**

** "Where are you all going, exactly?" He was still looking ahead, expressionless.**

** "Down to La Push, to First Beach." I studied his face trying to read it. His eyes seemed to narrow infinitesimally.**

"Man, she sees everything. You will never be able to get away with anything." said Em.

** He glanced down at me from the corner of his eye, smiling wryly. "I really don't think I was invited."**

** I sighed. "I just invited you."**

** "Lets you and I not push poor Mike any further this week. We don't want him to snap." His eyes danced; he was enjoying the idea more than he should.**

"Edward." scolded Esme.

"Sorry, Mom," he said to make her happy again. It worked.

** "Mike-schmike," I muttered, preoccupied by the way he'd said "you and I." I liked it more than I should.**

** We were near the parking lot now. I veered left, toward my truck. Something caught my jacket, yanking me back.**

** "Where do you think you're going?" he asked, outraged. He was gripping a fistful of my jacket in one hand.**

"Edward! You don't ever do that to a lady. You should know that." scolded Esme again.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't actually do it though." said Edward. Jasper and Emmett just snickered silently.

** I was confused. "I'm going home."**

** "Didn't you hear me promise to take you safely home? Do you think I'm going to let you drive in your condition?" His voice was still indignant.**

** "What condition? And what about my truck?" I complained. **

** "I'll have Alice drop it off after school." He was towing me toward his car now, pulling me by my jacket. It was all I could do to keep from falling backward. He'd probably just drag me along anyway if I did.**

"I would not!" said Edward loudly. He was shocked Bella would think that of him.

"Well she doesn't really know you yet, Ed." said Jasper, trying to calm him down by sending him waves of calm. It worked.

"I guess." sighed Edward.

** "Let go!" I insisted. He ignored me. I staggered along sideways across the wet sidewalk until we reached the Volvo. Then he finally freed me- I stumbled against the passenger door.**

** "You are so **_**pushy**_**!" I grumbled.**

** "Its open," was all he responded. He got in the driver's side.**

** "I am perfectly capable of driving myself home!" I stood by the car, fuming. It was raining harder now, and I'd never put my hood up, so my hair was dripping down my back.**

** He lowered the automatic window and leaned toward me across the seat. "Get in, Bella."**

** I didn't answer. I was mentally calculating my chances of reaching the truck before he could catch me. I had to admit, they weren't good.**

** "I'll just drag you back," he threatened, guessing my plan.**

** I tried to maintain what dignity I could as I got into his car. I wasn't very successful- I looked like a half drowned cat and my boots squeaked.**

"I am sure she still looked beautiful to me." said Edward, with as small smile on his face.

** "This is completely unnecessary," I said stiffly.**

** He didn't answer. He fiddled with the controls, turning the heater up and the music down. As he pulled out of the parking lot, I was preparing to give him the silent treatment- my face in full pout mode- but then I recognized the music playing, and my curiosity got the better of my intentions.**

** "Clair de Lune?" I asked surprised.**

"She knows Debussy?" Edward asked out loud. He was surprised she knew classical music.

** "You know Debussy?" He sounded surprised, too.**

** "Not well," I admitted. "My mother plays a lot of classical music around the house- I only know my favorites."**

** "Its one of my favorites, too." He stared through the rain, lost in thought.**

** "I listened to the music, relaxing against the light gray leather seat. It was impossible not to respond to the familiar, soothing melody. The rain blurred everything outside the window into gray and green smudges. I began to realize we were driving very fast; the car moved so steadily, so evenly, though, I didn't feel the speed. Only the town flashing by gave it away.**

** "What is your mother like?" he asked me suddenly.**

** I glanced over to see him studying me with curious eyes.**

** "She looks a lot like me, but she's prettier," I said. **

"Doubt it," he snorted.

** He raised his eyebrows. "I have too much Charlie in me. She is more outgoing than I am, and braver. She's irresponsible and slightly eccentric, and she is a very unpredictable cook. She's my best friend." I stopped. Talking about her was making me depressed.**

** "How old are you, Bella?" His voice sounded frustrated for some reason I couldn't imagine. He'd stopped the car, and I realized we were at Charlie's house already. The rain was so heavy that I could barely see the house at all. It was like the car was submerged under a river.**

** "I'm seventeen," I responded, a little confused.**

"She doesn't seem like a seventeen year old." said Jasper.

"Well neither does Edward but he is seventeen." replied Emmett.

"But I'm not really seventeen. More like a hundred and eight." said Edward.

** "You don't seem seventeen."**

** His tone was reproachful; it made me laugh.**

** "What?" he asked, curious again.**

** "My mom always says I was born thirty-five years old and that I get more middle-aged every year." I laughed, and then sighed. "Well someone has to be the adult." I paused for a second. "You don't seem like a junior in high school yourself," I noted.**

** He made a face and changed the subject.**

** "So why did your mother marry Phil?"**

** I was surprised he would remember the name; I'd mentioned it just once, almost two months ago. It took me a moment to answer.**

** "My mother… she's very young for her age. I think Phil makes her feel even younger. At any rate, she's crazy about him." I shook my head. The attraction was a mystery to me.**

** "Do you approve?" he asked.**

** "Does it matter?" I countered. "I want her to be happy…and he is who she wants."**

** "That's very generous…. I wonder," he mused.**

** "What?" **

** "Would she extend the same courtesy to you, do you think? No matter who your choice was?" He was suddenly intent, his eyes searching mine.**

** "I-I think so," I stuttered. "But she's the parent, after all. It's a little bit different."**

** "No one too scary then," he teased.**

** I grinned in response. "What do you mean by scary? Multiple facial piercing and extensive tattoos?"**

** "That's one definition I suppose."**

** "What's your definition?"**

** But he ignored my question and asked me another. "Do you think that I could be scary?" He raised one eye brow, and the faint trace of a smile lightened his face.**

"I bet she says your not scary" teased Emmett. "No way is Edward scary."

** I thought for a moment, wondering whether the truth or a lie would go over better. I decided to go with the truth.**

"**Hmmm…I think you could be, if you wanted to."**

Emmett pouted. Everyone laughed at his face.

** "Are you frightened of me now?" The smile vanished, and his heavenly face was suddenly serious.**

** "No." But I answered too quickly. The smile returned.**

** "So now are you going to tell me about your family?" I asked to distract him. "Its got to be a much more interesting story than mine."**

** He was instantly cautious. "What do you want to know?"**

** "The Cullens adopted you?" I verified.**

** "Yes."**

** I hesitated for a moment. "What happened to your parents?"**

** "They died many years ago." His tone was matter-of-fact.**

** "I'm sorry," I mumbled.**

** "I don't really remember them that clearly. Carlisle and Esme have been my parents for a long time now."**

** "And you love them." It wasn't a question. It was obvious in the way he spoke of them.**

At this Carlisle and Esme beamed with joy.

** "Yes." He smiled. "I couldn't imagine two better people."**

"Thank you, son" said Carlisle with emotion in his voice.

** "You're very lucky."**

** "I know I am."**

** "And your brother and sister?"**

** He glanced at the clock on the dash board.**

** "My brother and sister and Jasper and Rosalie for that matter, are going to be quite upset if they have to stand in the rain waiting for me."**

** "Oh, sorry, I guess you have to go." I didn't want to get out of the car.**

** "And you probably want your truck back before Chief Swan gets home, so you don't have to tell him about the Biology incident." He grinned at me.**

** "I'm sure he's already heard. There are no secrets in Forks." I sighed**

"All but one big secret." said Jasper. "Of which, I am sure she will find out."

** He laughed, and there was an edge to his laughter.**

** "Have fun at the beach…good weather for sunbathing." He glanced out at the sheeting rain.**

** "Wont I see you tomorrow?"**

** "No. Emmett and I are starting the weekend early."**

** "What are you going to do?" A friend could ask that right? I hoped the disappointment wasn't too apparent in my voice.**

** "We're going to be hiking in the Goat Rocks Wilderness, just south of Rainier."**

"Awesome! Bears!" said Emmett with excitement. He would never forgive that first bear.

** I remembered Charlie had said the Cullens went camping frequently.**

** "Oh, well, have fun." I tried to sound enthusiastic. I don't think I fooled him though. A smile was playing around the edge of his lips.**

** "Will you do something for me this weekend?" He turned to look me straight in the face, utilizing the full power of his burning gold eyes.**

** I nodded helplessly.**

** "Don't be offended, but you seem to be one of those people who just attract accidents like a magnet. So…try not to fall into the ocean or get run over or anything, all right?" He smiled crookedly.**

** The helplessness faded as he spoke. I glared at him.**

** "I'll see what I can do," I snapped as I jumped out into the rain. I slammed the door behind me with excessive force.**

** He was still smiling as he drove away.**

"That was the end of the chapter." said Edward. "Who wants to read next.

"I do!" Emmett said excitedly. Edward passed the book along to him.


End file.
